Firlt^  ,N73501  F5°5  1916 

%icaprTrrian  church 


THE  CHURCH  IN  1916 


A  MEMORIAL 


OF  THE 


Centennial  Celebration 


OF  THE 


FOUNDING  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


OF  THE 


First  Presbyterian  Church 


UTICA,  N.  Y. 


UTICA.  N.  Y.: 

Press  of  L.  C.  Cuildi  &  Son 

1016 


1816  1916 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church 

UUca,  New   York 

cordially  invites  you   to  be  present  at  the 

Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Sunday  School 

October  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 

Nineteen  hundred  and  sixteen 

Historical    Address,    Sunday    morning    at    half   after   ten    o'clock 

Sunday   School  Celebration   at   twelve   o'clock 

Anniversary   Sermon    at    half   after  seven   o'clock 

Reception  with  addresses,   in  Church  Parlor 

Monday   evening,    at   eight   o'clock,    October   sixteenth 


1816  1916 

ORDER  OF  SERVICES 

CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 

OF  THE 

FirSt  Presbyterian  Church  Sabbath  School 

UTICA,  N.  Y. 
OCTOBER  15th  and  16th,  1916 


A  moment's  pause  for  longing  and  for  dreaming, 
A  moment's  looking  backward  on  the  way; 

To  kiss  my  hand  to  long-past  turrets  gleaming. 
To  stand  and  think  of  life  of  yesterday. 


CENTENNIAL  COMMITTEES 


GENERAL  COMMITTEE 

HON.   H.   J.   COOKINHAM.   Chairman 

JULES  G.   DOUX 

C.    A.    EVANS 

E.    D.    IBBOTSON 

MISS  MARY  MERWIN 

MISS   C.    E.    PALMER 

MISS  E.   NORRIS 

GEORGE   E.    REN  DELL 

MRS.    C.    C.    SHAVER 

JAS.   E.    BREWER 

RECEPTION  COMMITTEE 

Chairman,  SPENCER  KELLOGG 

FINANCE  COMMITTEE 

Chairman.  E.  D.  IBBOTSON 


O  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

INVITATION  AND  PROGRAM  COMMITTEE 

Chairman,  MISS  ANNA  WARNER 

DECORATION  COMMITTEE 

Chairman.  MRS.  D.  C.  MURRAY 

MUSIC  COMMITTEE 

Chairman,  C.  A.  EVANS 


IN  THE   CHAPEL 

Register  at  your  earliest  possible  convenience 
Rev.  Ralph  Watson  Bkokaw,  D.  D.         Miss  Annie  Montgomery 
Our  Pastor  Hamadan,   Persia 

Our  Missionary 


MORNING  SERVICE 

Sunday,   October  15,   1916,  at  10:30  0 'Clock 

Rev.  Dr.  Ralph  W  Brokaw,  Presiding 


MUSIC 

Prof.  C.  W.  Mowry,  Organist  and  Choir  Director 

Quartette  —  Miss  Florence  Lumley,  Soprano;  Miss  Irene 
G.  Salladin,  Contralto ;  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Jones,  Tenor ; 
Mr.  Herbert  Jones,  Basso. 

Chorus  from  the  Utica  Philharmonic  Society,  under  the 

direction  of  Prof.  Samuel  T.  Evans 

Violinist,  Mrs.  Madge  Leland  Coggeshall 

Organ  and  Violin 

Doxology 

Invocation  —  Dr.  Ralph  W.  Brokaw 

Congregation  in  Unison.     (Standing) 

1.  O  come  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord;  let  us  heartily  rejoice  in 

the  strength  of  our  salvation. 

2.  Let  us  come   before  His  presence    with   thanksgiving    and 

show  ourselves  glad  in  Him  with  psalms. 

3.  For  the  Lord  is  a  great  God  and  a  great  King  above  all  gods. 


PROGRAM  7 

4.  In   His   hands  are   all    the   corners   of   the   earth   and   the 

strength  of  the  hills  is  His  also. 

5.  The  sea  is  His  and  He  made  it,  and  His  hands  prepared 

the  dry  land. 

6.  O  come  let  us  worship  and  fall  down  and  kneel  before  the 
Lord  our  Maker. 

7.  For  He  is  the  Lord  our  God  and  we  are  the  people  of  His 

pasture  and  the  sheep  of  His  hand. 

8.  O  worship  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of  holiness;  let  the  whole 

earth  stand  in  awe  of  Him. 

9.  For  He  cometh,  for  He  cometh  to  judge  the  earth  and  with 

righteousness  to  judge  the  world  and  the  people  with 
His  truth. 

Contralto  Solo  and  Chorus  —  "  0.  Thou  That  Tellest ' '     . 
Handel 

Responsive  Reading  —  Psalm  90 

1.  Lord  thou  hast  been  our  dwelling-place  in  all  generations. 

2.  Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth  or  ever  thou  hadst 

formed  the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting,  thou  art  God. 

3.  Thou   turnest  man   to   destruction;    and   sayest  Return,   ye 

children  of  men. 

4.  For  a  thousand  years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when 

it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night. 

5.  Thou  carriest  them  away  as  with  a  flood;  they  are  as  asleep: 

in  the  morning  they  are  like  grass  which  groweth  up. 

6.  In  the  morning  it  flourisheth,  and  groweth  up,  in  the  even- 

ing it  is  cut  down,  and  withereth. 

7.  For  we  are  consumed  by  thine  anger  and  by  the  wrath  are 

we  troubled. 

8.  Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities  before  thee,  our  secret  sins  in 

the  light  of  thy  countenance. 

9.  For  all  our  days  are  passed  away  in  thy  wrath:   we  spend 

our  years  as  a  tale  that  is  told. 

10.  The  days  of  our  years  are  three-score  years  and  ten;   and 

if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be  fourscore  years,  yet  is 
their  strength  labor  and  sorrow;  for  it  is  soon  cut  off, 
and  we  fly  away. 

11.  Who  knoweth  the  power  of  thine  anger?  even  according  to 

thy  fear,  so  is  thy  wrath. 

12.  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our 

hearts  unto  wisdom. 


8  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

13.  Return,  O  Lord,  how  long?  and  let  it  repent  thee  concern- 

ing thy  servants. 

14.  O  satisfy  us  early  with  thy  mercy;  that  we  may  rejoice  and 

be  glad  all  our  days. 

15.  Make   us   glad   according   to  the   days   wherein   thou    hast 

afflicted  us,  and  the  years  wherein  we  have  seen  evil. 

16.  Let  thy  work  appear  unto  thy  servants,  and  thy  glory  unto 

their  children. 

17.  And  let  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us;   and 

establish  thou  the  work  of  our  hands  upon  us;   yea,  the 
work  of  our  hands  establish  thou  it. 

Hymn  533  —  ' '  How  Firm  a  Foundation. ' '    Adeste  Fideles 

Prayer  —  Dr.    Robert    L.    Baehman.      (Closing   with    the 
Lord's  Prayer) 

Offertory,  Anthem  — ' '  Hark,  Hark,  My  Soul "...  Shelley 

Hymn  631  —  "Jerusalem,  the  Golden."     Urbs  Beata 

Historical  Address  —  Hon.  H.  J.  Cookinham 

Chorus  — ' '  And  the  Glory  of  the  Lord  " Handel 

Prayer  and  Benediction  —  Dr.  Ralph  W.  Brokaw 

Silent  Prayer 

Organ  Postlude 


SABBATH   SCHOOL  SERVICE  IN  CHURCH  AUDITORIUM 
12  o'clock  noon 

(Present  members  of  Sabbath  School  seated  in  extreme 
front  of  Church) 

Hymn  —  "Around  the  Throne  of  God  in  Heaven" 
1.      Around  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven 
Thousands  of  children  stand, 
Children  whose  sins  are  all  forgiven, 
A  holy,  happy  band, 

Singing,  "Glory,  glory,  glory  be 
to  God  on  high." 


PROGRAM 

2.      In  flowing  robes  of  spotless  white 
See  every  one  arrayed; 
Dwelling  in  everlasting  light 
And  joys  that  never  fade. 

Singing,  "Glory  be  to  God  on  high." 

3      What  brought  them  to  that  world  above, 

That  heaven  so  bright  and  fair, 

Where  all  is  peace,  and  joy,  and  love; 

How  came  those  children  there, 

Singing,  "Glory  be  to  God  on  high." 

4.  Because  the  Saviour  shed  His  blood 

To  wash  away  their  sin; 
Bathed  in  that  pure  and  precious  flood. 
Behold  them  white  and  clean. 

Singing,  "Glory  be  to  God  on  high." 

5.  On  earth  they  sought  the  Saviour's  grace, 

On  earth  they  loved  His  Name; 
So  now  they  see  His  blessed  face, 
And  stand  before  the  Lamb, 

Singing,  "Glory  be  to  God  on  high." 

Informal  talks  by  former  Superintendents  and  Members 

Hymn  — "I  Love  to  Tell  the  Story" 

1.  I  love  to  tell  the  story 

Of  unseen  things  above. 
Of  Jesus  and  His  glory. 

Of  Jesus  and  His  love. 
I  love  to  tell  the  story. 

Because  I  know  'tis  true; 
It  satisfies  my  longings 

As  nothing  else  can  do. 

REFRAIN 

I  love  to  tell  the  story, 
'Twill  be  my  theme  in  glory, 
To  tell  the  old,  old  story 
Of  Jesus  and  His  love. 

2.  I  love  to  tell  the  story, 

'Tis  pleasant  to  repeat. 
What  seems,  each  time  I  tell  it 

More  wonderfully  sweet. 
I  love  to  tell  the  story, 

For  some  have  never  heard 
The  message  of  salvation 

From   God's  own  holy  word.  Ref. 


10  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

3.      I  love  to  tell  the  story; 

For  those  who  know  it  best 
Seem  hungering  and  thirsting 

To  hear  it.  like  the  rest. 
And  when,  in  scenes  of  glory, 

I  sing  the  new,  new  song. 
'Twill  he  the  old,  old  story 

That  I  have  loved  so  long.  Ref. 

Announcements  and  Offertory  —  Piano  and  Violin 

Hymn  —  ' '  Wonderful  Words  of  Life ' ' 

1.  Sing  them  over  again  to  me, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life; 
Let  me  more  of  their  beauty  see, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life; 
Words  of  life  and  beauty, 

Teach  me  faith  and  duty. 

CHORUS 

Beautiful  words,  wonderful   words, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life. 
Beautiful  words,  wonderful  words, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life. 

2.  Christ,  the  blessed  One,  gives  to  all 

Wonderful  words  of  Life; 
Sinner,  list  to  the  loving  call, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life; 
All  so  freely  given, 

Wooing  us  to  heaven.  Cho. 

3.  Sweetly  echo  the  gospel  call, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life; 
Offer  pardon  and  peace  to  all, 

Wonderful  words  of  Life: 
Jesus,  only  Saviour. 

Sanctify  forever.  Cho. 

Benediction 


EVENING  SERVICE 

7:30   o'clock 
Organ  and  Violin 

Call  to  Worship  —  Dr.  Ralph  W.  Brokaw 

Hymn  — ' '  Day  Is  Dying  in  the  West. ' '    Chautauqua 


PROGRAM  11 

Scripture 

Soprano  Solo.  Quartette  and  Chorus  —  "I  Know  thai 

My  Redeemer  Li veth" Handel 

Prayer 

Offertory,  Anthem  —  ' '  What  of  the  Night ' '      .      Thompson 
Hymn  121  — "A  Mighty  Fortress."    Ein'  Feste  Burg 
Sermon  —  Rev.  Robert  L.  Bachman,  D.  D. 

Chorus  — "Hallelujah"  from  "The  Mount  of  Olives" 

Beethoven 

Hymn  692  —  "Now  the  Day  is  Over"       .       .       Merrial 

Prayer  —  Dr.  Bachman 

Benediction  —  Dr.  Bachman 

Silent  Prayer 

Organ  Postlude 


MONDAY  EVENING,  OCT.  16,  1916 
Informal  reception  and  collation  with  short  addresses 
by  neighboring  clergymen 


Hymn  —  "How  Firm  a  Foundation."     Adeste  Fideles 

1.  "  How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 
Is  laid  for  your  faith  in  His  excellent  word! 
What  more  can  He  say  than  to  you  He  hath  said — 
You  who  unto  Jesus  for  refuge  have  fled? 

2.  "  Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee,  O  be  not  dismayed ; 
I,  I  am  thy  God,  and  will  still  give  thee  aid; 

I'll  strengthen  thee,  help  thee,  and  cause  thee  to  stand, 
Upheld  by  My  righteous,  omnipotent  hand. 

3.  "  When  through  the  deep  waters  I  call  thee  to  go, 
The  rivers  of  woe  shall  not  thee  overflow; 

For  I  will  be  with  thee  thy  troubles  to  bless, 
And  sanctify  to  thee  thy  deepest  distress. 


12  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

4.  "  When  through  fiery  trials  thy  pathway  shall  lie, 
My  grace,  all-sufficient,  shall  be  thy  supply; 

The  flame  shall  not  hurt  thee;  I  only  design 
Thy  dross  to  consume,  and  thy  gold  to  refine. 

5.  "  E'en  down  to  old  age  all  My  people  shall  prove 
My  soverign,  eternal,  unchangeable  love; 

And  when  hoary  hairs  shall  their  temples  adorn, 
Like  lambs  they  shall  still  in  My  bosom  be  borne. 

6.  "  The  soul  that  on  Jesus  hath  leaned  for  repose, 
I  will  not,  I  will  not  desert  to  his  foes; 

That  soul,  though  all  hell  should  endeavor  to  shake, 
I'll  never,  no,  never,  no,  never  forsake." 

Hymn  —  "Jerusalem,  the  Golden."     Urbs  Beata 

1.  Jerusalem  the  golden, 

With  milk  and  honey  blest! 
Beneath  thy  contemplation 

Sink  heart  and  voice  opprest. 
I  know  not,  O  I  know  not, 

What  joys  await  us  there; 
What  radiancy  of  glory, 

What  bliss  beyond  compare. 

2.  They  stand,  those  halls  of  Zion, 

All  jubilant  with  song. 
And  bright  with  many  an  angel. 

And  all  the  martyr  throng. 
The  Prince  is  ever  in  them, 

The  daylight  is  serene; 
The  pastures  of  the  blessed 

Are  decked  in  glorious  sheen. 

3.  There  is  the  throne  of  David; 

And  there,  from  care  released, 
The  song  of  them  that  triumph, 

The  shout  of  them  that  feast; 
And  they,  who  with  their  Leader 

Have  conquered  in  the  fight. 
For  ever  and  for  ever 

Are  clad  in  robes  of  white. 

4.  O  mine,  my  golden  Zion! 

O  lovelier  far  than  gold! 
With  laurel-girt  battalions, 
And  safe,  victorious  fold: 


PROGRAM  13 

O  sweet  and  blessed  country, 

Shall  I  ever  see  thy  face? 
O  sweet  and  blessed  country, 

Shall  I  ever  win  thy  grace? 

5.     Exult,  O  dust  and  ashes. 

The  Lord  shall  be  thy  part: 
His  only  and  for  ever. 

Thou  shalt  be,  and  thou  art. 
Exult,  O  dust  and  ashes, 

The  Lord  shall  be  thy  part: 
His  only  and  for  ever, 

Thou  shalt  be,  and  thou  art. 

Hymn  —  "Now  the  Day  Is  Over" 

1.  Now  the  day  is  over, 

Night  is  drawing  nigh, 
Shadows  of  the  evening 
Steal  across  the  sky. 

2.  Jesus,  give  the  weary 

Calm  and  sweet  repose; 

With  Thy  tenderest  blessing 

May  mine  eyelids  close. 

3.  When  the  morning  wakens, 

Then  may  I  arise 
Pure,  and  fresh,  and  sinless 
In  Thy  holy  eyes. 

4.  Glory  to  the  Father, 

Glory  to  the  Son, 
And  to  Thee,  blest  Spirit, 
Whilst  all  ages  run. 

Hymn  —  ' '  Day  Is  Dying  in  the  West ' ' 

1.     Day  is  dying  in  the  west; 

Heaven  is  touching  earth  with  rest; 
Wait  and  worship  while  the  night 
Sets  her  evening  lamps  alight 
Through  all  the  sky. 

REFRAIN 

Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Lord  God  of  Hosts! 
Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  Thee! 
Heaven  and  earth  are  praising  Thee, 
0  Lord  Most  High. 


14  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

2.  Lord  of  life,  beneath  the  dome 
Of  the  universe,  Thy  home, 
Gather  us  who  seek  Thy  face 
To  the  fold  of  Thy  embrace, 

For  Thou  are  nigh.  Rek. 

3.  While  the  deepening  shadows  fall, 
Heart  of  Love,  enfolding  all. 
Through  the  glory  and  the  grace 
Of  the  stars  that  veil  Thy  face, 

Our  hearts  ascend.  Rkf. 

4.  When  for  ever  from  our  sight 
Pass  the  stars,  the  day,  the  night. 
Lord  of  angels,  on  our  eyes 

Let  eternal  morning  rise. 

And  shadows  end.  Rkf. 

Hymn  —  'A  Mighty  Fortress."     Bin'  Peste  Burg 

1.  A  mighty  Portress  is  oar  God, 

A  Bulwark  never  failing; 
Our  Helper  He  amid  the  flood 

Of  mortal  ills  prevailing: 
For  still  our  ancient  foe 
Doth  seek  to  work  us  woe; 
His  craft  and  power  are  great. 
And,  armed  with  cruel  hate. 

On  earth  is  not  his  equal. 

2.  Did  we  in  our  own  strength  confide. 

Our  striving  would  be  losing; 
Were  not  the  right  man  on  our  side. 

The  man  of  God's  own  choosing: 
Dost  ask  who  that  may  be? 
Christ  Jesus,  it  is  He; 
Lord  Sabaoth  His  Name, 
From  age  to  age  the  same, 

And  He  must  win  the  battle. 

3.  And  though  this  world,  with  devils  tilled. 

Should  threaten  to  undo  us; 
We  will  not  fear,  for  God  hath  willed 

His  truth  to  triumph  through  us: 
The  prince  of  darkness  grim.  — 
We  tremble  not  for  him: 
His  rage  we  can  endure. 
For  lo!  his  doom  is  sure, 

One  little  word  shall  fell  him. 


PROGRA M 


15 


That  word  above  all  earthly  powers, 
No  thanks  to  them,  abideth; 

The  Spirit  and  the  gifts  are  ours 
Through  Him  who  with  us  sideth: 

Let  goods  and  kindred  go. 

This  mortal  life  also; 

The  body  they  may  kill: 

God's  truth  abideth  still. 
His  kingdom  is  for  ever 


OUR  S 1 1 PE  K I N T  K N 1 )  K  N T S 


William   Williams 
Truman  Parmele 
Geo.  S.  Wilson 
Roswell   Keeler 
Alfred  Hitchcock 
Briggs  W.  Thomas 
Edward  Vernon 
Robert  B.  Shepard 
B.  B.  Hotchkin 
Wm.  J.  Bacon 
Wm.  Curtis  Noyes 
John  F.   Seymour 
Fay  Edgerton 
J.  T.  Marshall 
Geo.  Lawson 
Richard  H.  Wells 
Jas.  C.  Wells 
Geo.   Tracy 


Geo.  D.  Foster 
Thos.  Maynard 
E.  A.  Hammond 
Robert  S.  Williams 
Wm.  S.  Taylor 
Math.  H.  Griffith 
Rev.  R.  L.  Bachman 
Thos.  M.  Howard 
Wm.  M.  Griffith 
Dr.  F.  H.  Brewer 
Wm.  S.  Rix 
Rev.  R.  H.  Life 
Chas.  H.  Parsons 
E.  D.  lbbotson 
Rev.  F.  W.  Murtfeldt 
John  P.  Gomph 
Geo.  E.  Rendell 


OUR    REPRESENTATIVES 

Preachers  <>f  the  Gospe] 


Rev.   K/.ekiel    Williams 

Rev.  Geo.  S.  Wilson 

Rev.  Chas.  Stuart 

Rev.  Edw.  Bright.  D.  D. 

Rev.  B.  B.  Hotehkin 

Rev.  John  Morgan,  D.   D. 

Rev.  Oliver  Bronson 

Rev.  H.   Steele  Clark.    D.    D. 

Rev.  Jas.   H.   Dwight 

Rev.  Samuel  L.   Merrell 

Rev.  Edw.  D.  Morris.  D.  L). 


Rev.  Wm.   House 

Rev.  Anson  J.  Upson,  D.  D. 

Rev.  Chas.  Dunning 

Rev.  John   R.    Lewis 

Rev.  Adam    Martin 

Rev.  Thornton   A.    Mills 

Rev.  B.  Fay  Mills 

Rev.  W.  E.  Kimball 

Rev.  Jas.  M.  Craig 

Rev.  Chas.  T.  Burnley 

Rev.  Plato  Jones 


16 


MEMORIAL    BOOK 


Rev.  Chas.  H.  Walker 
Rev.  Leslie  R.  Groves 
Rev.  Prank  A.    S'trough 
Rev.  Chas.   R.   Kingsley 
Rev.  Milton   K.   Merwin 


Rev.  Anthony  N.  Petersen 

Rev.  Fenton  Jones 

Rev.  Robert   L.    Bachman 

Rev.  Philemon   Fowler  Sturges 


Missionaries 


Mary  S.  Loomis 

Sandwich  Islands 
James  Garrett 

India 
Mary  B.  Sampson 

India 
H.  G.  O.  Dwight.  D.  D. 

Turkey 
Asahel   Grant,   M.   D. 

Persia 
S.  Wells  Williams,  LL.  D. 

China 
W.  Fred'k  Williams,  D.  D. 

Assyria 
Sarah  Pond  Williams 

Assyria 


Mary  J.  Carroll 

N.  A.  Indians 
Alfred  North 

Northern   India 
Harriet  A.    Sheldon 

Cherokees 
Sarah  Dean 

Cherokees 
Theodore  Pond 

Assyria 
Steph.  B.  Macomber 
Henry  K.  Hoisington 
Annie  Montgomery 

Persia 


REV.  RALPH  W.  BROKAW,  D.  D. 


PROGRAM  17 

ORGANIZATIONS  AND  OFFICERS 

THE    SESSION 

Ralph   W.    Brokaw,    Moderator 

P.  H.  Brewer  Edward  R.  Evans 

F.  W.  Kincaid  Edward  D.  Ibbotson  Richard  R.  Martin 

Archibald  MacDonald  C.  A.  Evans 

Edward  L.  Wells,  Clerk  W.  A.  Soper,  Treas. 

DEACONS 

Theo.  G.  Ward  Herbert  L.  Teller  Wm.  A.  Budlong 

Frederick  H.  Cookinham  Jules  Doux  Wm.  M.   Pritchard 

TRUSTEES 

Frederick  W.  Kincaid,  President 

Edward  Norris,  Secretary         Spencer  Kellogg,  Treasurer 

F.  F.  Ellinwood  Robert  H.  Reid  Frank  B.  Rathbun 

Wm.  H.  Owen  R.  O.  Lees  Earl   D.  Fuller 

GRADED  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

George   E.   Rendell,   Superintendent 
Carlton  T.  Groves.  Miss  C.  E.  Palmer,  Assistants 

F.  H.  Cookinham,  Miss  Atossa  Whittemore, 

Supt.  Junior  Department  Supt.  Primary  Department 

Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Hitchcock,  Supt.  Home  Department 

Mrs.  F.  W.  Kincaid,  Supt.  of  "Cradle  Roll" 
Carlton  T.  Groves,  Librarian 
William  B.  Watson,  Secretary         W.  M.  Pritchard,  Treasurer 
Robert  E.  Swinney,  Pres.  Men's  Club  Bible  Class 

E.  L.  Wells,  Pres.  Women's  Bible  Class 
The  Ethelon  Class — Miss  Henrietta  1*1.   Dodge,  President 
Membership  Secretary,  Wm.  R.  Hughes 

Birthday  Secretary,  Mrs.  C.   I.   Disbrow 
Scout  Master,  Earl  B.  Townsend 
Assistants — Arthur  Lamb,       L.  C.  Ferguson 

YOUNG   MEN'S   CLASS 

Theo.   S.   Ross,   President 
Arthur  Hughes,  Secretary  Millard  Mackie,  Treasurer 

YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  SOCIETY  OF  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR 

Robert  E.  Codner,  President 
Mrs.  Frederick  L.  Grant,  Vice  President 

Carolyn  Ramsey,   Secretary 
S.  Mildred  Kemp.  Cor.  Sec.  William  Hughes,  Treas. 


18  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

WOMEN'S  HOME  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY   SOCIETY 

Mrs.  Carl  A.  Evans,  Pres.  Mrs.  Margaret  Hurd,  Treas. 

Miss  Gertrude  Curran,  Sec.  Mrs.  H.  L.  Teller,  Cor.  Sec. 

Miss  Amelia  V.  R.  Sayre,  Disbursing  Treasurer  Mission  Funds 

WOMEN'S   HOME   MISSIONARY   SOCIETY 

Mrs.  Earl  D.  Fuller,  President 
Mrs.  Charles  M.  Hitchcock,  Sec.  Mrs.  G.  Miller,  Treas. 

YOUNG    WOMEN'S   MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

Mrs.   Ralph  W.   Brokaw.   President 

Miss  Isabel  F.  Estes,       Mrs.  W.  J.  Williams,  Vice  Presidents 

Miss  Jennie  Bottger,  Sec.  Miss  Jennie  Edwards,  Treas. 

Meets  second  Monday  of  each  month 

THE  PASTOR'S  AID  SOCIETY 

Mrs.  F.  H.  Brewer,  President  Miss  Mary  Merwin,  Sec. 

Mrs.  Anna  L.  Greenman,  Treasurer 

Miss  Amelia  V.  R.  Sayre,  Cor.  Secretary 
Miss  Margaret   Reid,   Head  Sunshine  Comimttee 
Meets  Quarterly 

THE  MONTGOMERY  GUILD 

Miss  Eleanor  Jacobs,  Pres.  Miss  Marion  Bremer,  Sec. 

Miss  Lelia  Watson,  Treas. 

Meets  first  Tuesday  of  each  month 

MEN'S   CLUB 

D.  R.  Campbell,  Pres.  E.  L.  Hockridge,  Sec. 

H.   L.   Teller,   Treas. 


SEXTON — John  D.  Morris,  66  Broadway 


HENRY  J.  COOKINHAM 


ADDRESS    OF    HENRY    J.    COOKINHAM  19 

Reverend  Ralph  W.  Brokaw.  Pastor  of  the  Church, 
presided  at.  the  morning  service,  and  in  introducing  Mr. 
Cookinham  said:  "Mr.  Cookinham  felt  that  inasmuch  as 
he  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  in  charge  of  this 
Centennial  Celebration  it  was  not  exactly  fitting  that  he 
should  make  the  Historical  address,  since  it  might  seem 
that  in  part  he  had  elected  himself  to  do  it.  But  instant- 
ly and  unanimously — save  for  his  own  one  vote — that 
objection  was  overruled.  For  other  than  Mr.  Cookinham 
there  is  no  one  in  this  city  better  qualified  for  that  task 
than  he.  We  rejoice  that  he  consented  to  our  request  ; 
and  now  it  is  your  pleasure  to  listen  to  him. 

HISTORICAL  ADDRESS 
By   Henry  -i.  Cookinham. 

Wonderful  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  affairs  of 
the  human  family  during  the  last  century.  In  fact  these 
changes  are  more  important  than  all  that  had  previously 
occurred  in  the  secular  affairs  of  men  from  the  beginning 
of  history.  One  century  ago  there  were  no  lines  of 
steamboats  sending  their  great  ships  across  the  ocean,  do 
steam  nor  electric  railroads,  no  motorcycles,  bicycles, 
automobiles  nor  flying  machines;  no  iron  clad  ships  of 
war,  no  submarines;  no  breech-loading  cannon,  nor  small 
arms,  no  dynamite  torpedos,  no  moAving  machines,  no 
reapers,  no  steam  nor  hot  water  nor  hot  air  furnaces;  no 
telegraph  nor  telephone;  no  typewriter;  not  even  a  sew- 
ing machine.  Truly  the  changes  wrought  during  the 
century  past  have  been  marvelous.  But  there  is  one  insti- 
tution which  exercises  a  mighty  influence  over  the  human 
family  that  has  not  changed— the  Christian  Church. 
Connected  with  it  and  rendering  it  most  potent  assist- 
ance is  the  Sunday  School.  The  development  of  this 
institution  has  been  mostly  during  the  last  century;  par- 
ticularly is  this  true  in  our  own  country. 

Robert  Raikes  of  Gloucester,  England,  is  accorded  the 
honor  of  being  the  pioneer  in  the  enterprise.  He  is  said 
to  have  organized  a  Sunday  School  in  1783.     Such  prog- 


20  MEMORIAL    HOOK 

ress  was  made  in  that  direction  in  Great  Britain  during 
the  next  four  years  that  there  were  enrolled  in  Sunday 
Schools  three  hundred  thousand  children.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  in  the  early  days  these  schools  were  not  con- 
nected with  the  churches  and  secular  instruction  was 
given  with  very  little  religious  instruction.  For  this 
reason  there  was  opposition  among  church  men  to  the 
whole  plan  of  the  Sunday  School.  The  teachers  were 
paid,  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  in  this  early  day 
there  were  no  free  public  schools.  Some  Sunday  Schools 
were  organized  in  this  country  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  and  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  These 
were  mostly  in  the  towns  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  There 
was  none  however  in  the  interior  of  the  country  until 
about  1816. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Utica  was 
Rev.  George  Bethune,  D.  D.  In  the  fall  of  1816,  two  of 
his  sisters  visited  in  Utica,  and  were  entertained  at  the 
home  of  Jeremiah  VanRensselaer.  whose  residence  was 
on  the  corner  of  Genesee  and  Elizabeth  streets,  where 
Grace  Church  now  stands.  These  young  ladies  inspired 
five  of  their  girl  friends  in  Utica  to  undertake  the  organ- 
ization of  a  Sunday  School  in  the  village.  The  names  of 
these  pioneers  in  this  good  work  are: 

Alida  VanRensselaer.  afterward   Mrs.  Judge  Charles 

H.  Carroll,  of  Livingston  County. 
Mary  E.  Walker,  afterward  Mrs.  John  H.  Ostroni. 
Catharine  Breese.  afterward  Mrs.  Griswoid. 
Sarah  Malcom,  afterward  Mrs.  Malcolm  Ball,  and 
Elizabeth  Bloodgood. 

After  canvassing  the  village  for  about  two  weeks,  among 
the  poor,  they  met,  for  the  first  time,  October  16.  1816. 
A'ith  their  thirty  scholars  at  No.  26  Hotel  Street  and  held 
■he  first  session  of  the  institution,  the  centennial  anni- 
versary of  which  we  meet  to-day  to  celebrate.  They  had 
undertaken  the  work  without  encouragement  from  the 
ministers  or  church  people  generally,  but  they  persevered 
despite  all  opposition  and  discouragement.  Not  long 
after  this  beginning  a  few  men  joined   in  the  enterprise 


ADDRESS    OF    HENRY    J.    COOK1NHAM  21 

and  founded  a  school  for  boys.  The  meetings  were  held 
separately,  and  they  were  known  as  the  male  and  female 
departments  of  the  Sunday  School. 

The  first  public  announcement  that  can  be  found  con- 
cerning the  school  is  in  1817.  It  was  in  this  year  that 
the  first  directory  of  the  village  of  Utica  was  published 
by  William  Williams,  and  among  the  institutions  of  the 
village  noticed  in  the  directory  is  the  following: 

"The  officers  of  the  Sunday  School: 
Asahel  Davis,  President. 
John  H.  Ostrom,  Vice-President. 
G.  John  Miller,  Secretary. 
Eurotas  P.  Hastings,  Treasurer." 

The  officers  of  the  Female  Department  were : 

Cornelia  VanRensselaer,  First  Directress. 

Susan  White,  Superintendent,  and 

Eunice  Camp,  Superintendent  of  the  Colored  School. 

There  were  in  the  school,  teachers  and  scholars  of  other 
than  the  Presbyterian  denomination,  and  the  school  was 
known  for  several  years  as  the  Union  Sunday  School. 
There  were  three  sessions  on  Sunday.  One  was  held  at 
8:30  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  second  immediately  after 
the  church  service,  and  the  third  was  held  in  the  evening, 
and  was  principally  for  the  colored  people,  of  whom  there 
was  a  large  number  in  the  village  at  the  time,  some  of 
whom  were  slaves.  The  attendance  increased,  so  that  it 
was  soon  necessary  to  procure  more  commodious  rooms 
and  the  school  was  removed  from  Hotel  street  to  Minerva 
Hall,  on  Genesee  street,  just  below  Broad  street.  About 
this  time  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  took  charge  of 
the  school;  and.  in  1821  or  1822,  the  sessions  were  held 
in  the  building  which  stood  on  the  southerly  side  of  Cath- 
arine street,  opposite  Franklin  street.  Mr.  Thomas  W. 
Seward,  who  was  a  scholar  at  that  time,  in  his  excellent 
address  at  the  Semi-Centennial  Celebration,  states  that  at 
this  early  date  there  was  no  oral  instruction  in  the  school, 
but  the  required  number  of  verses  were  committed  to 
memory  and  recited  by  the  scholars  to  the  teachers;  that 


22  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

no  scholar  thought  of  demanding  explanations,  and  no 
teacher  had  time  to  volunteer  any.  Not  long  after  this 
Truman  Parmelee,  who  was  the  Second  Superintendent, 
prepared  and  printed  a  series  of  questions  pertaining  to 
the  Bible,  and  it  is  claimed  that  these  were  the  first  ques- 
tion papers  ever  prepared  and  printed  in  this  country  for 
the  use  of  Sunday  Schools.  About  this  time  a  Sunday 
School  paper  called  "The  Visitant"  was  published  by 
Frederick  S.  Winston  and  others;  and,  it  is  claimed  that 
this  was  the  first  paper  of  the  kind  published  in  this  coun- 
try. In  1858  Thomas  Maynard.  the  third  Superintendent, 
compiled  and  published  "The  Echo",  one  of  the  first 
Sunday  School  hymn  books  ever  published  in  America. 

Among  the  archives  in  the  possession  of  the  Oneida  His- 
torical Society  is  a  pamphlet  published  in  1829  giving  the 
history  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and  its  Sunday 
School.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  five  young  ladies 
who  organized  the  school  were  the  only  teachers  for  four 
months,  and  that  instruction  was  given  from  cards,  and 
the  spelling  books;  that  in  1820  the  New  Testament  was 
introduced  as  a  text  book,  and  that  in  three  years  the 
boys  had  committed  to  memory  and  recited  329,426  verses. 
The  records  also  show  that  in  six  months  the  scholars  in 
the  female  department  committed  and  recited  to  the 
teacher  76,374  verses.  In  1827  the  school  was  removed 
from  Catharine  street  to  the  session  room  on  Hotel  street. 
A  Bible  Class  was  organized  May  25,  1825.  This  was  done 
in  the  most  formal  manner  by  the  men,  a  constitution  was 
adopted,  and  the  sessions  were  most  interesting,  and  the 
attendance  large.  This  class  has  been  continued,  in  some 
form,  to  the  present  time. 

The  church  building  on  Washington  street  was  finished 
in  November,  1827,  and  the  school  was  transferred  to  the 
rooms  prepared  for  it  in  the  basement  of  that  splendid 
building.  This  church  was  destroyed,  by  an  incendiary 
fire,  January  13,  1851,  and  the  school  was  without  a  home. 
During  the  year  and  ten  months  thereafter  the  sessions  of 
the  Sunday  School  were  held  either  in  Concert  Hall,  which 
stood  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  John  streets,  where  tho 


ADDRESS   OF    BENRY    J.    COOKINHAM  23 

Post  Office  now  stands,  or  in  Mechanics'  Hall  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Liberty  and  Hotel  streets,  where  the  offices  of  the 
Utica  Herald-Dispatch  are  now  located. 

During  the  early  days  there  was  rigid  discipline  in  the 
schools.  On  one  occasion  several  boys  had  committed  the 
offense  of  remaining  outside  at  the  morning  session,  but 
they  appeared  at  the  afternoon  session  and  were  publicly 
reprimanded  and  summarily  expelled.  On  the  next  Sun- 
day, however,  on  their  written  petition,  accompanied  with 
tears  of  contrition,  they  were  publicly  reinstated. 

The  new  church  on  the  corner  of  Columbia  and  Wash- 
ington streets  was  finished  in  1852,  and  the  first  session 
of  the  Sunday  School  was  held  in  the  new  chapel  on  the 
first  Sunday  of  November  of  that  year. 

In  1866-67  the  chapel  and  Sunday  School  rooms  were 
enlarged  and  they  have  remained,  substantially,  the  same 
to  the  present  time,  except  some  minor  changes  within. 

The  largest  enrollment  of  scholars  was  in  1860.  At  that 
time  there  were  573  members  of  the  Sunday  School.  The 
average  attendance  was  335,  and  the  largest  attendance 
on  any  Sunday  was  418. 

At  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  held  in  1866,  the  enrollment 
was  somewhat  less,  and  at  the  Seventy-Fifth  Anniversary 
held  in  1891,  there  were  upon  the  rolls  405. 

At  the  Eighty-Fifth  Anniversary  in  1901,  the  enroll- 
ment was  496,  and  the  average  attendance  was  289 ;  and, 
in  this  centennial  year  the  numbers  on  the  rolls  are  as 
follows : 

Active  Department 298 

Cradle   Roll        22 

Home  Department 162 

Total 482 

There  are  many  reasons  for  this  diminution  in  the  num- 
bers. Some  of  which  are  as  follows :  The  families  of  to- 
day are  not  so  large  as  they  were  fifty  or  one  hundred 
years  ago.  The  population  of  the  city  has  vastly  increased 
since  1860,  but  the  residential  part  of  the  city  is  more 
remote  from  the  Church.     Although  the  membership  of 


24  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

the  Church  has  increased  about  three  hundred,  making 
the  number  at  this  time  more  than  nine  hundred ;  it  is  a 
notable  fact  that  more  than  sixty-six  and  two-thirds  per 
cent  of  the  members  of  the  Church  reside  on  Court  and 
Hopper  streets,  or  southerly  of  a  line  drawn  through  those 
two  streets.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Church, 
missions  were  established  in  Deerfield,  West  Utica,  The 
Highlands,  and  for  the  colored  people  on  Elizabeth  street, 
and  members  of  the  school  became  permanent  members  of 
these  missions.  Many  children,  who  would  be  in  the 
school  if  they  resided  near  the  Church,  are  now  attendants 
of  other  schools  which  are  located  much  nearer  to  their 
residences. 

Still  further,  in  early  days  there  were  but  few  enter- 
tainments and  the  Sunday  School  was  one  of  the  great 
institutions  of  the  village,  and  its  celebrations  and  public 
entertainments  were  red  letter  days  and  of  great  import- 
ance to  the  community.  But  now  the  multiplicity  of  enter- 
tainments and  social  gatherings  have  divided  the  attention 
of  the  people  and  perhaps  to  their  detriment.  It  must, 
also,  be  regretfully  admitted  that  the  bicycle,  motorcycle, 
and  automobile  have  been  the  means  of  lessening  the 
attendance  of  the  Sunday  Schools,  as  well  as  of  the  Church 
services. 

In  1866  the  Semi-Centennial  of  the  organization  of  the 
Sunday  School  was  celebrated.  The  Committee  of  Ar- 
rangements consisted  of  Robert  S.  Williams,  Superintend- 
ent ;  Erwin  A.  Hammond,  Henry  H.  Hurd,  Mary  W.  Bussey 
and  Mrs.  George  L.  Curran.  A  reception  was  held  on 
Saturday  evening,  October  20,  at  which  there  was  an 
exchanging  of  reminiscences.  Supreme  Court  Judge  Will- 
iam J.  Bacon  presided.  Letters  were  read  from  former 
members  of  the  School  who  were  unable  to  be  present,  and 
addresses  were  delivered  by  Robert  B.  Shepard  of  Hudson, 
N.  Y. ;  Hovey  K.  Clark  of  Detroit,  Michigan;  Gurdon 
Burchard  of  New  York,  and  Thomas  W.  Seward  of  Utica. 
Among  the  letters  read  was  one  from  Elizabeth  Bloodgood, 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  school.  Sarah  M.  Ball,  the 
other  survivor  of  the  original  five,  was  present,  and  heart- 


REV.  PHILEMON  H.  FOWLER,  D.  D. 


ADDRESS    OF    HENRY    J.    COOKINHAM  2.r> 

ily  joined  in  the  celebration,  and  received  marked  atten- 
tion from  all  present.  Judge  Bacon  in  his  opening  address 
spoke  of  her  as  follows : 

"She  comes,  at  the  end  of  fifty  years,  to  recall  the 
scenes  and  look  upon  some  of  the  faces  familiar 

to  her  youth In  common  with  her 

associates  she  began  a  work  feeble  enough  at 
first,  but  developing  steadily  and  surely  to  the 
great  institution  some  of  the  results  of  which 
we  are  this  night  to  commemorate" 

At  the  Sunday  morning  service  Rev.  Philemon  H. 
Fowler,  D.  D.,  preached  a  sermon  on  the  subject  of  Sunday 
Schools.  During  the  singing  of  the  last  hymn,  at  this 
service,  word  was  sent  to  Dr.  Fowler  that  there  was  a 
desire  to  have  a  collection  taken  at  that  time  to  raise  a 
fund  to  be  devoted  to  the  enlargement  of  the  chapel  and 
Sunday  School  rooms.  The  collection  amounted  to  $4,500. 
In  the  afternoon  the  anniversary  exercises  of  the  school 
proper  were  held,  at  which  addresses  were  made  by  P. 
Harwood  Vernon,  Samuel  E.  Warner,  John  F.  Seymour, 
and  Hovey  K.  Clark,  all  of  whom  were  former  scholars. 

In  the  evening  Robert  S.  Williams,  Superintendent,  read 
an  historical  report  of  the  school,  and  addresses  were  de- 
livered by  Rev.  Anson  J.  Upson,  D.  D.,  of  Hamilton  Col- 
lege, Rev.  Edward  Bright,  D.  D.,  of  New  York,  Editor  of 
the  New  York  Examiner,  and  Thomas  Allen  Clarke  of  New 
Orleans.  At  the  close  of  the  evening  session  Dr.  Fowler 
extended  an  invitation  to  all  friends  of  the  school  to  a 
reception  to  be  given  at  his  residence  on  Monday  evening 
following.  The  reception  was  attended  by  a  large  number 
and  was  a  most  enjoyable  function.  The  residence  of  Dr. 
Fowler  was  in  Rutger  Place,  and  is  now  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Gilbert  Butler. 

Between  the  Semi-Centennial  Celebration  and  the  Sev- 
enty-Fifth Anniversary  of  the  organization,  the  school  was 
successfully  conducted,  but  nothing  of  unusual  importance 
occurred. 

From  the  very  excellent  report  of  Mr.  George  L.  Curran. 
who,  for  nearly  thirty-four  years  was  secretary,  it  appears 


26  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

that  the  General 'Committee,  which  had  charge  of  the  Semi- 
centennial Celebration,  were  all  living;  and,  were  with 
Mrs.  Sarah  K.  Sheffield,  William  S.  Taylor  and  Miss  Caro- 
line Wright,  appointed  to  have  charge  of  the  arrangements 
for  the  Seventy-Fifth  Anniversary.  It  also  appears  from 
Mr.  Curran's  report  that,  at  this  time,  only  fifteen  of  the 
officers,  teachers  and  scholars  of  the  adult  department  were 
connected  with  the  school  in  1866.  The  same  report  shows 
that,  for  the  twenty-five  years  between  1866  and  1891,  328 
members  of  the  school  had  joined  the  Church  and  that 
$9,100  had  been  contributed  to  the  cause  of  missions*. 

The  Seventy-Fifth  Anniversary  exercises  were  held  on 
October  18th,  1891.  Rev.  Edward  Morris  of  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  a  former  member  of  the  school,  preached  at  the 
morning  service.  The  Superintendent,  Thomas  M.  How- 
ard, presided.  At  the  evening  session  Robert  S.  Williams 
presided,  and  reports  were  made  and  letters  from  former 
members  of  the  school  were  read,  and  an  address  was 
delivered  by  Hon.  Erastus  Clark,  son  of  Sophia  Clark,  one 
of  the  most  effective  workers  that  the  Sunday  School  has 
ever  had  among  its  members.  It  has  been  customary,  dur- 
ing the  entire  life  of  the  school,  for  some  special  notice  to 
be  taken  of  the  recurrence  of  the  day  on  which  the  school 
was  established,  but  time  does  not  permit  even  their 
mention. 

About  1901  while  Rev.  R.  H.  Life  was  Superintendent, 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Brokaw,  there  was  inaugurated 
a  more  systematic  method  of  teaching  than  had  before 
existed.  The  last  change  in  regard  to  the  method  of 
instruction  was  the  adoption  of  "The  Westminster  Graded 
Lessons."  This  is  a  series  of  text  books  on  the  Bible.  They 
are  adapted  to  the  different  grades;  and,  if  carried  out 
completely  would  cover  a  period  of  about  twenty  years. 
Undoubtedly,  in  many  respects,  this  is  the  best  system 
ever  in  use ;  yet,  as  it  does  not  require  the  memorizing  of 
much  scripture,  it  may  be  that  too  much  attention  to  the 
training  of  the  intellect  is  not  conducive  to  spiritual 
development.  Experience,  also,  teaches  that  if  Scripture 
is  not  committed  to  memory  in  youth  it  never  is.     In  early 


ADDRESS    OF    HENRY    .1.    COOKINHAM  27 

days  the  entire  New  Testament  was  memorized  by  schol- 
ars in  this  school,  and  who  will  say  that  in  after  life  this 
was  not  a  source  of  great  benefit  and  enjoyment  to  all 
who  stored  their  minds  with  the  matchless  words  of  the 
Apostles  and  the  Divine  Teacher? 

The  Eighty-Fifth  Anniversary  was  held  on  October 
13th,  1901.  The  Superintendent,  Mr.  Charles  Parsons, 
presided,  and  from  the  report  submitted  at  that  time  ii 
appears  that  the  school  was  in  a  flourishing  condition, 
and  that  the  enrollment  was  498. 

Since  1901,  there  have  been  no  notable  events,  but  the 
high  standing  of  the  school  has  been  maintained. 

The  State  Sunday  School  Convention  was  held  in  this 
church  in  1866,  1876,  1898,  1902  and  1913. 

At  some  time  in  the  early  days,  but  the  records  do  not 
show  when,  a  change  was  made  and  but  one  session  was 
held  each  Sunday  instead  of  three,  and  this  was  held  at 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  In  1870,  the  teachers  voted 
to  change  the  hour  to  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  as  an 
experiment,  for  three  months.  At  the  end  of  this  time  it 
was  decided  to  return  to  the  former  hour,  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  the  sessions  were  held  at  that  hour 
until  1874,  when,  by  a  vote  of  the  teachers,  it  was  changed 
to  twelve  o'clock,  immediately  following  the  public 
church  service,  and  this  has  remained  the  hour  of  meet- 
ing until  the  present  time. 

A  Cradle  Roll  was  established  some  years  since,  and  is 
for  the  purpose  of  enrolling  young  children  among  the 
members  of  the  school.  Some  of  the  officers  visit  these 
children  before  they  are  old  enough  to  attend  the  primary 
department,  and  on  their  birthday,  cards  are  sent  them, 
and  they  become  interested  in  the  subject  and  look  for- 
ward to  the  time  when  they  can  become  real  members  of 
the  school. 

The  Home  Department  was  established  in  February, 
1903.  and  is  made  up  of  those  who  do  not,  regularly, 
attend  the  public  sessions  of  the  school,  but  take  up  the 
study  of  the  lessons  at  home,  and  make  their  reports  to 
the    Superintendent    of    this    Department    who    makes    a 


28  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

report  to  the  school  proper.  Mrs.  Julia  Haskell  served 
as  Superintendent  for  ten  years  and  under  her  leadership, 
assisted  by  her  successors  in  office,  Mrs.  Lydia  Hitchcock, 
and  Mrs.  H.  E.  Teller,  and  others,  this  department  has 
done  efficient  work  and  is  the  largest  Sunday  School 
Home  Department  in  the  city. 

The  Bible  Class,  which  was  formed  in  1825  has  con- 
tinued in  some  form  and  is  now  the  Men's  Bible  Class, 
which  assembles  each  Sabbath  day  at  the  same  hour  with 
the  Sunday  School,  and  is  taught  by  the  Pastor  of  the 
Church  or  by  someone  designated  to  perform  that  service. 

Those  who  are  not  now  living,  but  who  were  connected 
with  the  school  for  the  longest  period  were,  Mary  E. 
Ostrom,  who  was  an  efficient  teacher,  and  Assistant  Super- 
intendent for  about  forty-three  years;  Caroline  Wright, 
a  teacher  for  about  the  same  period,  and  Mary  W.  Bussey 
for  about  forty-four  years,  and  during  most  of  this  time 
was  Assistant  Superintendent. 

Special  attention  has  invariably  been  given  to  the 
Christmas  season;  and,  frequently  it  has  been  observed 
as  a  time  to  give  rather  than  to  receive.  Liberal  con- 
tributions have  been  made  by  members  of  the  school,  of 
the  things  which  furnished  comfort  and  enjoyment  to 
those  less  favored,  in  the  affairs  of  life,  than  the  donors. 
Children's  Day  also  receives  its  due  consideration,  and 
works  of  benevolence  are  constantly  being  carried  on.  and 
are  effective  in  alleviating  the  ills  of  the  needy. 

The  century  mark  is  now  reached,  and  cannot  they,  who 
have  rendered  such  unselfish  service  to  this  great  institu- 
tion look  back  over  the  years  that  have  passed  with  some 
degree  of  satisfaction,  that  they  have  been  the  means  of 
instilling  into  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  young  correct 
principles  of  life?  Proof  of  this  good  work  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  members  of  the  school  have  gone  forth  into 
the  world,  and  in  the  various  walks  of  life  have  taken  a 
place  in  the  first  rank  among  men  and  women.  The  list 
of  worthies  is  too  long  to  repeat  here,  but  as  examples  of 
what  material  was  sent  out  from  this  Sunday  School  we 
can  point  to  those  who  held  high  places  among  men  in 


ADDRESS    OF    HENRY    J.    COOKINHAM  29 

business,  scientific  and  professional  life.  Among  them 
was  Frederick  S.  Winston,  a  teacher  of  a  class  of  boys, 
who,  as  President  of  The  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company 
of  New  York,  made  it  the  foremost  institution  of  its  kind 
in  the  world. 

There  was  Alexander  S.  Johnson,  who  at  thirty-four 
years  of  age  was  a  Judge  of  the  New  York  Court  of 
Appeals,  the  youngest  man  that  ever  served  in  that  great 
court. 

In  the  realms  of  science  there  was  James  D.  Dana,  of 
Yale  College,  of  whom  the  encyclopedias  say  "he  was  in 
the  very  foremost  rank  of  philosophic  naturalists". 

And  there  was  Thomas  Hastings,  who  had  charge  of 
the  church  music  and  who  made  his  hymns  world-famed. 
Some  of  his  best  productions  were  written  for  this  Church 
and  Sunday  School,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  For  one 
of  the  anniversaries  of  the  Sunday  School  he  wrote  the 
words  and  music  of  the  splendid  hymn,  "Hail  to  the 
Brightness  of  Zion's  Glad  Morning,  Joy  to  the  Lands  that 
in  Darkness  Have  Lain".  Then,  too,  he  wrote  the  music, 
known  all  over  the  Christian  world,  most  appropriately 
set  to  the  matchless  hymn  "Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me. 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee". 

And  let  us  remember  that  not  less  than  thirty  members 
of  the  school  have  entered  the  Christian  ministry,  and 
sixteen  have  given  their  lives  to  missions  among  the 
heathens. 

What  a  record  is  this  of  deeds  well  done ! 

It  is  our  joyous  privilege  to  welcome,  at  this  celebration, 
most  of  the  still  living  Superintendents  of  the  Sunday 
School.  Rest  assured,  gentlemen,  that  this  Church,  in  all 
its  departments,  appreciates  your  good  work  of  the  past 
and  now  acknowledges  its  indebtedness  to  you  for  your 
unselfish  devotion  to  the  religious  training  of  its  youth. 
But  there  is  one  of  your  number  present  to  whom  more 
is  due,  Dr.  Bachman.  The  Sunday  School  and  the  Church 
renders  you  most  hearty  thanks  for  your  presence  here 
to-day  to  join  us  in  our  Centennial  Jubilee.  This  occa- 
sion would  be  sadly  lacking  to  all  of  us  if  you  were  not 


30  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

with  us;  and,  we  hope,  also,  that  it  may  be  a  joyous  da> 
for  you,  and  that  it  may  dwell  in  your  mind  a  fond  recol- 
lection while  life  shall  last. 

We  look  back  through  the  eventful  years  that  have 
passed  and  call  up  the  names  and  faces  of  those  who  have 
finished  their  course  and  have  passed  over  the  river.  Some 
took  the  long  journey  before  we  came  into  this  inher- 
itance, but  their  names  are  not  forgotten. 

Those  five  valiant  young  girls  who.  against  much  op- 
position, began  the  fight  for  righteousness  in  this  com- 
munity are  surely  not  forgotten.  May  it  not  be  said  of 
them  as  of  others  whose  lives  have  made  the  world  better, 
that  "they  forgot  themselves  into  immortality"?  Then 
there  were  William  Williams,  the  first  Superintendent,  and 
Truman  Parmelee,  Thomas  Maynard.  Erwin  A.  Ham- 
mond, Robert  S.  Williams,  William  S.  Taylor,  Matthew 
H.  Griffith,  Thomas  M.  Howard,  and  Rev.  I.  N.  Terry,  all 
of  whom  did  valiantly  as  head  of  the  school,  and  Henry 
H.  Hurd,  the  matchless  leader  of  children  in  song,  and 
Sophia  Clark,  Caroline  Wright,  and  that  princess  of  Sun- 
day School  workers,  Mary  W.  Bussey,  and  many,  many 
more  whose  names  shine  on  the  page  of  our  history.  They 
are  not  here  to-day  to  join  in  this  jubilee.  They  have 
fought  the  good  fight ;  they  have  finished  the  course,  and 
have  won  the  crown. 

There  are  many  in  these  presents  who  now  fill  the 
places  of  those  who  have  gone  on  before ;  and,  it  is  proper 
that  we  should,  on  this  Centennial  day,  extend  our  best 
wishes,  and  express  to  you  our  appreciation  of  your  unself- 
ish devotion  in  building  up  the  Master  Kingdom  in  our 
midst.  Our  minds  and  souls  will  famish  if  we  live  only  on 
memories  of  the  past.  The  motto  of  the  Christion  Soldier 
must  ever  be  "ONWARD'". 

What  mysteries  the  Infinite  Father  will  open  to  his 
children  during  the  century  to  come  we  know  not.  Will 
it  be  that  those  who  come  after  us  will  sail  the  air  as  safely 
as  we  now,  in  great  ships,  sail  the  ocean?  Will  they 
pass  under  the  sea  to  foreign  lands  as  we  glide  over  the 
land    in    luxurious    compartments    of   the    railroad    cars? 


ADDRESS    OF    HENRY    .).    COOKINHAM  A] 

Will  they  speak  to  their  friends  in  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  earth  and  at  the  time  behold  their  faces? 

With  all  that  may  come,  will  the  world  be  better?  The 
answer  must  be  according  to  the  manner  that  men  acecpt 
the  teachings  of  the  inspired  text  book  of  the  Sunday 
School. 

Before  another  century  is  passed  this  splendid  temple 
of  worship  may,  like  its  predecessor,  be  resolved  to  ashes 
or  given  over  to  the  demands  of  commerce.  When  a  hun- 
dred years  have  rolled  over  the  earth  we  shall  not  be  here. 
Our  names,  perhaps,  may  be  found  by  our  children's 
children's  children  in  some  musty  record  or  on  the  page 
of  some  almost  forgotten  hook,  but  the  influence  of  this 
institution  will  never  cease.  The  kings  and  rulers;  of 
earth,  who,  to-day,  marshal  the  mightiest  armies  the  world 
has  ever  seen,  will  be  known  only  by  the  few  who  read 
ancient  history.  Even  this  mighty  republic  of  ours  may 
perish  from  the  earth,  but  the  church  and  its  most  efficient 
helper,  the  Sunday  School,  will  live  on  and  on  forever. 

When  tlie  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  this  school  is  celebrated,  as  it  will  be,  those  who 
are  then  in  our  places,  will  call  from  the  records  this 
occasion,  and  the  services  which  have  been  rendered 
humanity  by  our  labor  in  this  vineyard,  and  they  will 
rejoice  that  so  sacred  a  legacy  has  been  bequeathed  to 
them.  Kingdoms  and  Empires  may  fall  but  the  Church 
and  the  Institution  which  celebrates  its  Centennial  Anni- 
versary to-day,  will  never  fall  because  they  are  founded 
upon  a  rock.  A  hundred  years  from  to-day  those  who 
follow  us  will  study  the  same  book  which  we  have  studied. 
They  will  learn  the  same  lessons  which  we  have  learned. 
They  will  know  about  Abraham,  Jacob,  Moses  and  David 
and  the  beloved  disciple  and  Peter  and  Paul.  They  will 
learn  the  story  of  Bethlehem,  Gethsemane,  Calvary  and 
the  resurrection  morning,  and  they  will  then  worship,  as 
we  now  worship,  the  Son  of  Mary.  The  Crucified  Nazarine, 
The  Risen  Saviour  of  the  World. 


32  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

Dr.  Brokaw  had  charge  of  the  exercises  at  the  twelve 
o'clock  meeting  of  the  Sunday  School,  and  introduced  the 
speaker  with  appropriate  remarks. 

REPORT  OF  GEORGE  E.  RENDELL 

Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School 

Statement  and  Greeting 

Sunday  School  closed  the  last  Sunday  in  June  for  our 
usual  summer  vacation  to  re-open  September  10th.  On 
account  of  the  quarantine  we  did  not  open  at  that  time 
and  have  been  prevented  from  having  our  entire  school 
gather  until  to-day.  For  the  last  two  Sundays  the  Senior 
and  Adult  Departments  have  met  but  we  never  knew 
before  how  much  depended  upon  the  Primary.  Junior  and 
Intermediate  Departments. 

You  will  realize  that  in  many  ways  it  has  been  a  ser- 
ious handicap  both  to  our  School  and  the  Anniversary 
Committee  to  have  no  complete  sessions  of  the  School 
until  to-day.  However  we  have  done  the  best  we  could 
and  I  am  glad  so  many  of  our  members  are  here  to-day. 
We  look  forward  to  a  year  of  pleasant  study  and  earnest 
work  together.  Let  us  never  forget  that  our  main  work 
is  to  study  the  Word  of  God  and  thereby  draw  closer  and 
closer  to  our  Master. 

Numbers 

The  enrollment  of  our  Sunday  School  based  on  the 
figures  of  May  and  June.  1916,  is  as  follows : 

Dept.                                    Officers.     Teachers.           Pupils.  Total. 

Cradle  Roll   1  21  22 

Primary 3                     5  47  55 

Junior    2                     6  40  48 

Intermediate    9  61  70 

Senior    4  41  45 

Training   Class 1  15  16 

Adult    2  61  63 

General   Officers 8  8 

Home    1                   12  144  157 

Total 15  39  430  484 

Active  or  Attending  Depts.  .13  27  265  305 


report  of  george  e.   rendell  33 

Expenses 

The  expenses  of  carrying  on  the  Sunday  School  for  the 
past,  year  has  been  $359.68,  including  as  the  largest  item 
lesson  quarterlies  $140.11.  In  addition  there  is  a  little 
more  than'  usual  of  unpaid  expenses  due  to  our  having 
not  yet  received  the  last  payment  of  interest  from  our 
endowment.  Our  income  for  expenses  has  been  $256.00 
with  $125.00  still  to  be  received,  making  a  total  of  $381.00 
— about  equaling  our  yearly  expense.  We  could  use  a 
larger  income  to  very  good  advantage  in  providing  new 
equipment,  further  helps,  more  bibles  in  the  Sunday  School 
rooms  and   in   many  other  ways. 

Birthday  Fund 

Income  for  year  $22.40,  expenses  $19.35,  leaving  a  bal- 
ance of  $3.05.  The  expenses  against  this  fund  have  been 
larger  this  year  than  usual  because  of  our  putting  out  this 
year  more  birthday  cards  than  usual,  while  the  returns 
have  not  increased  in  the  same  proportion.  However  our 
main  purpose  is  a  birthday  greeting  to  our  members  and 
not  to  make  money.  When  the  receipts  exceed  the  ex- 
penses the  balance  is  used  for  some  Sunday  School  need. 

Missions 

The  collections  in  the  Sunday  School  during  the  year 
have  amounted  to  $544.76.  Nearly  all  of  this  is  used  for 
Missions.  The  lamount  to  be  given  to  each  object  is  fixed 
in  our  yearly  budget  according  to  which  the  total  gifts  for 
Home  Missions  are  $232.00  and  the  total  gifts  for  Foreign 
Missions  are  $200.00,  making  a  total  to  Missions  of  $432.00. 

Besides  this  yearly  budget  we  made  a  special  Christmas 
offering  last  Christmlas  to  be  used  for  local  relief  which 
amounted  to  $65.96,  besides  a  considerable  quantity  of  food 
and  clothing. 

We  have  also  done  our  share  financially  and  otherwise 
to  support  organized  Sunday  School  work  in  the  City. 
County  and  State. 


34  memorial  book. 

The  Main  Work  of  the  Sunday  School 
is  studying  the  Word  of  God  to  know  His  will  and  teach- 
ing its  truths  for  the  threefold  purpose  of 

1.  Leading  Souls  to  Christ 

2.  Developing  Christian  Character,  and 

3.  Training  Christian  Workers 

This  main  work,  the  spiritual  work  of  the  Sunday 
School,  does  not  lend  itself  to  figures  and  records.  In 
fact  it  is  greater  than  figures  and  records.  God  alone 
has  a  complete  record  of  the  souls  who  find  him  through 
our  work,  and  the  future  alone  can  tell  of  the  Christian 
character  here  developed,  or  the  Christian  workers  who 
really  start  their  training  here. 

However,  we  can  say  that  we  have  earnestly  studied 
and  conscientiously  taught  the  word  of  God,  and  have  led 
some  souls  to  Christ  and  to  be  members  of  His  church ; 
that  by  personal  example  and  by  study  together  of  God's 
word  we  have  tried  to  develop  Christian  character,  that 
we  have  tried  not  only  to  develop  Christian  character 
and  lead  souls  to  receive  Christ  and  be  as  it  were  passive 
Christians  but  we  have  tried  to  develop  active  Christians, 
Christians  who  are  saved  to  save  others.  Christians  whose 
habit  will  be  to  let  their  faith  develop  into  works.  Chris- 
tians who  can't  keep  their  salvation  to  themselves  but 
must  help  others.  Christians  who  are  bound  to  be  workers 
and  Christians  who  are  sufficiently  trained  in  Christ's 
work  to  be  not  only  willing  but  efficient  workers  for  Him. 

The  graded  lessons  are  now  used  in  all  our  clases  except 
in  the  adult  department  and  one  or  two  classes  of  the 
senior  department.  As  much  time  as  possible  has  been 
devoted  to  class  periods  for  study  of  the  lessons  because 
the  lesson  with  the  teacher  is  the  important  part  of  the 
Sunday  School  hour. 

We  are  especially  pleased  at  the  progress  of  the  teach- 
ers' training  classes  this  year.  During  the  last  year  the 
class  which  began  two  years  ago  have  with  Miss  Cornelia 
E.  Palmer  as  teacher,  almost  completed  the  second  year's 
work  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  class  had  to  meet  on 


REPORT    OF    GEORGE    E.    RENDELL  35 

other  days  than  Sunday,  due  to  most  of  the  members  of 
the  class  having  become  teachers  in  the  Sunday  School. 
A  new  class  was  started  last  fall  with  Mr.  James  E. 
Brewer  as  teacher.  This  class  has  completed  the  first 
year's  work  and  we  look  for  them  to  complete  the  course 
this  coming  year.  New  members  may  join  this  class  now 
for  the  coming  year  and  complete  the  course  two  years 
from  now.  We  are  especially  anxious,  however,  to  secure 
necessary  teachers  for  the  coming  year  without  drawing 
upon  the  present  training  class  to  the  end  that  each  mem- 
ber in  the  class  may  complete  the  full  two  years'  course 
before  being  called  upon  to  teach. 

A  Word  of  Appreciation 
As  I  have  been  for  the  last  five  years  the  Superintendent 
of  our  Sunday  School,  I  wish  to  use  this  public  occasion 
to  express  my  appreciation  for  the  earnest  efforts  and 
hearty  co-operation  of  my  fellow  officers,  for  the  conscien- 
tious and  efficient  services  of  the  teachers,  and  for  the 
attention  and  willing  work  of  the  pupils,  during  all  and 
every  part  of  that  period.  I  wish  I  might  take  the  time 
to  mention  by  name  each  one  of  the  officers  and  teachers 
who  have  been  associated  with  our  school  during  that 
time.  I  have  enjoyed  being  a  part  of  the  Sunday  School 
of  the  "Old  First"  and  only  hope  that  the  little  I  have 
been  able  to  do  may  be  blessed  of  God  and  used  by  Him 
in  His  work. 

Our  Need  for  the  Future 
I  have  thought  long  to  know  what  our  great  need  is  for 
the  future  of  our  Sunday  School.  T  believe  that  our  great 
and  pressing  need  for  the  greater  success  of  our  Sunday 
School  and  its  work  is  a  greater,  a  renewed  and  a  more 
complete  consecration  of  ourselves  in  personal  service, 
even  to  taking  up  regular,  hard,  self-sacrificing  service  in 
God's  work  in  the  Sunday  School.  If  our  Church  and 
School  will  so  take  up  that  actual,  personal  and,  if  I  may 
coin  a  word,  a  non-substitute  service,  we  can  rest  assured 
we  have  placed  our  School  in  position  to  receive  God's 
blnssiner. 


36  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

REMARKS  BY  EDWARD  D.  IBBOTSON 

The  noble  achievements  in  the  past,  of  the  old  First 
Church  Bible  School,  should  be  to  us  of  the  present,  an 
inspiration  for  the  future. 

Never  before  has  the  importance  of  Bible  instruction 
by  the  Sunday  School  been  as  great,  neglected  as  it  is 
to-day  in  many  homes  and  in  the  public  schools.  Yet, 
many  of  our  American  Colleges  are  now  giving  courses 
in  Bible  study,  educational  leaders  beginning  to  realize 
the  truth  of  Wm.  E.  Gladstone's  saying  of  twenty  years 
ago  :  "The  day  was  approaching  when  no  man  or  woman 
would  be  considered  well  educated  who  did  not  have  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Bible." 

Every  year  we  have  a  Rally  Sunday.  Every  century 
we  should  have  a  Rally  Year.  Let  us  each  therefore 
individually  do  our  best  to  make  the  100th  year  of  our 
Bible  School  the  Rallv  Year  in  its  history. 


REMARKS  OP  DR.  F.  H.  BREWER 

Dear  Friends: 

A  few  days  ago  1  received  a  note  from  the  Committee 
on  Centennial  Celebration  asking  me  to  extend  a  three- 
minute  greeting  to  the  Sunday  School  and  its  friends. 
In  thinking  over  the  friends  of  the  Sunday  School  there 
naturally  came  to  my  mind  this  classification :  Past,  Pres- 
ent and  Prospective. 

To  our  friends  of  the  past  we  are  indebted  for  the 
foundations  that  were  laid  a  century  ago  and  for  the 
legacies  of  good  works  and  annuities  that  have  been  a 
continued  support  and  example.  The  historical  address 
made  mention  of  many  of  these  friends  but  it  would  be 
impossible  to  commemorate  them  all  or  adequately  recog- 
nize the  patient,  quiet,  self-sacrificing  work  done  by  those 
that  have  passed  on.  It  remains  for  present  and  pros- 
pective friends  to  continue  and  perpetuate  this  institution 
as  department  of  church  work.  I  believe  that  many  peo- 
ple  do  not   sufficiently  recognize   the   importance   of  the 


ADDRESS     BY     REV.     A.     N.    PETERSEN  37 

Sunday  School.  It  receives  minor  attention  in  their  minds 
when  in  reality  it  should  be  placed  foremost  in  the  order 
of  church  work.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  building  up  the 
church  solidly  the  order  should  be  Sunday  School,  Prayer 
Meeting,  Church  Membership.  Let  us  each  and  all  try 
and  do  what  we  can  to  build  up  the  Sunday  School  and 
interest  others  in  its  welfare. 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  A.  N.  PETERSEN. 

Dr.  Brokaw,  Members  and  Friends  op  the  Sunday 
School : 

It  is  indeed  a  pleasure  for  me  to  be  present  at  these. 
Centennial  exercises.  It  is  like  coming  home  to  be  once 
more  within  the  walls  of  this  dear  old  church.  I  do  not 
think  that  I  have  ever  seen  this  church  so  beautifully 
decorated  save  on  that  memorable  night  when  your  Pastor 
joined  me  in  marriage  to  the  best  and  fairest  graduate  of 
this  school.  Probably  on  that  occasion  I  was  not  com- 
petent to  pass  a  just  and  unbiased  judgment.  I  congratu- 
late the  School  upon  having  lived  and  served  for  five 
score  years — through  a  whole  century  of  time. 

In  II  John  1-4  we  read  these  words:  "I  rejoiced  great- 
ly that  I  found  of  thy  children  walking  in  the  truth". 
Through  the  years  the  truths  of  God's  word,  and  the 
Gospel  of  His  dear  Son  have  been  tought  here  and  the 
children  of  this  School  are  walking  in  the  truth  here,  and 
all  over  the  world. 

I  can  never  express  the  debt  of  gratitude  which  I  owe 
to  this  Church.  Beyond  Auburn  Theological  Seminary 
and  Hamilton  College  and  the  good  schools  of  this  city 
this  Church  has  exerted  upon  my  life  the  mightiest  and 
weightiest  influence.  Permit  me,  friends,  upon  this  occa- 
sion to  pay  a  personal  tribute  to  the  saints  of  this  Church 
who  have  influenced  my  life  for  good.  I  could  speak  of 
my  dear  mother,  of  Mrs.  Matthew  Griffith,  of  Mrs.  Haskell 
and  many  others  to  whom  I  am  deeply  indebted,  but  I  will 
speak  of  three  persons  whom  I  consider  made  it  possible 
for  me  to   enter  the  ministrv  of  the   Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


38  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

The  first  one  is  a  man  who  has  quietly,  unassumingly, 
faithfully  served  the  Master  for  many  years  in  this  city. 
His  life  and  character  are  one  of  Utica  's  chief  assets.  He 
has  been  a  man  of  physical,  moral  and  spiritual  strength 
in  this  community.  As  far  back  as  1875  or  1876  this  man 
was  consecrated  enough  to  the  Master's  work  to  hunt 
up  a  family  over  in  Deerfield,  and  connect  that  family 
with  the  life  and  work  of  this  Church.  Our  family  was 
of  Scandinavian  stock  and  had  been  but  few  years  in  this 
country  when  this  Christian  man,  graduate  of  Yale  Uni- 
versity, active  in  business,  took  time  although  to  be  a 
friend  of  our  family.  I  can  never  repay  my  personal 
debt  to  George  L.  Curran,  a  former  member  of  this 
Church  and  school.  No  history  of  this  School  will  ever 
be  complete  without  a  record  of  the  loving  and  faithful 
service  of  Mr.  Curran,  for  so  many  years  a  careful,  con- 
scientious secretary  of  this  School.  I  never  heard  him 
speak  in  public,  but  his  fidelity,  his  good  deeds  and  his 
deep  spirituality  have  spoken  and  continue  to  speak 
mightily  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.  I  can  see  him  now  as 
he  quietly  passed  from  class  to  class  recording  those  pres- 
ent, asking  after  the  absent.  The  Petersen  family  have 
appreciated  Mr.  Curran 's  helpful  friendship,  and  I  rejoice 
in  the  privilege  to  pay  this  inadequate  tribute  to  him. 

The  next  one  I  would  speak  of  is  my  good  teacher  of 
sainted  memory,  Miss  Carrie  Kellogg.  I  remember  in  the 
early  eighties  her  first  visit  to  our  home  on  Meadow 
street.  She  came  into  our  home  like  a  breath  from 
Heaven  itself.  For  over  ten  years  she  taught  a  class  of 
seven  or  eight  boys  and  I  can't  believe  this  Sunday 
School  ever  had  a  teacher  more  genuinely  loved  than  was 
Miss  Kellogg.  We  were  a  rough  bunch  of  boys,  but  by  con- 
tact with  her  gentle  and  gracious  churchlike  personality 
the  rough  edges  and  corners  of  our  character  were  pol- 
ished and  made  like  unto  the  character  of  our  common 
Master,  and  Friend.  There  were,  perhaps,  more  gifted 
and,  perhaps,  better  teachers  in  this  School,  but  I  am  sure 
there  were  none  more  spiritual.  Hpr  teachings  sank 
deeper  into   our  hearts  than  we  knew,  for  she   was  so 


ADDRESS    OF    WM.    M.    GRIFFITH  39 

gracious,  gentle,  sympathetic  When  I  was  in  Auburn 
Seminary  I  learned  that  she  had  died  in  Sunny  Italy,  and 
I  felt  with  the  poet : 

"That  when  she  had  passed 
It  seemed  like  the  closing  of  exquisite  music." 

The  last  one  of  whom  I  would  speak  is  dear  Dr.  Bach- 
man,  my  pastor  for  sixteen  years.  Under  his  preaching 
I  was  led  to  give  my  heart  to  the  Master  and  my  life  to 
the  ministry  of  His  Gospel.  He  was  a  true  friend  to  me, 
even  if  I  did  not  see  it  in  those  days  when  he  called  upon 
me  to  offer  prayer  in  public,  when  my  knees  smote 
together  and  my  heart  quaked  with  fear  and  trembling. 
His  preaching  was  solid,  and  sound,  and  the  very  phrase- 
ology of  his  good  prayers  will  unconsciously  slip  into 
mine  when  I  lead  my  Scarborough  folk  in  their  devotions. 

As  chairman  of  the  committee  that  looks  after  the  aged 
ministers  I  said  in  Westchester  Presbytery:  "If  ever  my 
old  Pastor  was  in  need  or  distress,  if  I  knew  of  it,  I  would 
walk  across  the  continent  to  do  him  service."  I  thank 
God  for  the  influence  of  Dr.  Bachman  upon  my  life. 

May  I  close  my  remarks  with  this  statement,  that  there 
is  no  work  so  important,  nor  so  far-reaching  in  its  results 
as  teaching  the  children  the  word  of  God,  and  the  things 
of  God. 

One  of  the  prisoners  at  Sing  Sing  said  this  to  me:  "The 
greatest  work  outside  the  prison  is  the  spiritual  training 
of  the  children. "  God  bless  you  all  as  you  seek  to  guide 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  children  to  Jesus,  the  Chil- 
dren's Friend  and  Saviour. 


ADDRESS  OF  COLONEL  WM.  M.  GRIFFITH 

This  is  the  day  when  memory  occupies  the  throne  and 
reigns  supreme.  It  is  the  day  when  the  past  naturally 
merges  into  the  present;  old  forms  and  faces,  long  since 
passed  away  reappear;  familiar  voices,  long  since  silent, 
are  again  heard.  We  naturally  and  properly  recall  our 
first  connection  with  this  old  school  and  live  over  again 
the  admonitions  and  counsel  received  from  our  old  teach- 


40  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

ers  and  officers.  As  the  years  roll  on,  these  memories 
become  more  mellow  and  potent.  We  are  not  able  nor 
do  we  care  to  get  away  from  their  influence.  We  cor- 
dially recognize  the  power  they  have  had  in  silently 
moulding  our  lives  and  determining  our  character. 

Among  the  many  faithful  servants  who  have  here 
served  their  generation,  two  stand  out  prominently  in 
my  affection  and  memory.  One  was  my  first  Sunday 
School  teacher,  one  of  the  most  loyal  and  faithful  sons  of 
this  old  church,  William  S.  Taylor.  In  season  and  out  of 
season,  in  storm  or  sunshine,  he  was  always  in  his  place ; 
always  greeting  you  with  his  kindly  smile  and  cheerful 
word ;  always  ready  to  perform  any  service  whether  large 
or  small,  without  murmur  or  complaint,  exercising  and 
practising  a  sweet  Christian  charity  that  made  itself  felt 
in  many  a  home  in  this  city.  As  a  fellow  worker  in  the 
Sunday  School,  as  a  fellow  elder  in  the  Church,  I  gladly 
bear  testimony  to  his  worth  and  Christian  character. 

This  occasion  would  not  be  complete  without  paying  a 
just  tribute  to  that  remarkable  woman,  Mary  W.  Bussey, 
for  so  many  years  "the  assistant  Pastor  of  the  city".  In 
many  respects  she  was  the  most  efficient  woman  worker  I 
have  ever  known.  She  was  a  person  with  strong  convic- 
tions, rich  in  plans  and  resources,  indefatigable  in  her 
energies  and  labors.  One  outstanding  grace  in  her  life 
has  always  impressed  me  ;  and  that  was  her  ability  to  sink 
her  plans  and  theories  and  adopt  with  enthusiasm  the 
plans  of  others,  when  outvoted.  That  is  always  the  mark 
of  a  great  character.  Those  of  us  who  were  privileged  to 
work  with  her  bear  cheerful  tribute  to  her  greatness  and 
goodness. 

This  old  school  has  always  been  remarkable  in  one 
respect.  So  many  of  its  teachers  and  officers  have  given 
practically  all  their  lives  to  its  service.  The  roll  of  those 
who  have  served  twenty,  thirty,  and  even  forty  years  is 
by  no  means  short,  and  such  service  has  created  a  loyalty 
and  sentiment  that  is  peculiarly  strong.  We  cannot  call 
that  roll  but  we  are  proud  of  it  and  our  sentiment  and 
love  are  quickened  as  we  pass  over  it.     Christian  senti- 


ADDRESS    OF    WM.    M.    GRIFFITH  41 

ment  for  such  an  institution  is  a  splendid  thing  and  we 
rejoice  in  the  fact  that  it  is  so  strong  here. 

The  work  of  the  Sunday  School  is  beyond  figures.  We 
read  the  report  of  a  year  and  are  impressed  with  the 
record.  But  who  is  able  to  comprehend  the  cumulative 
labor  of  a  century  of  work?  Who  can  estimate  the  quiet 
work  that  has  been  going  on  year  in  and  year  out  for 
one  hundred  years?  We  know  that  out  of  the  ranks  of 
the  School  the  Church  is  largely  recruited,  and  that  from 
the  workers  in  the  School,  the  Church  receives  its  active 
laborers  and  supporters.  But  after  all  this  does  not  con- 
stitute all  the  work  of  the  Sunday  School.  We  must 
never  forget  that  the  object  is  not  remedial  but  preven- 
tive and  formative.  This  is  the  kind  of  work  that  can 
never  be  put  down  in  figures.  Its  full  value  can  only  be 
known  in  eternity.  The  child  is  taken  when  the  mind  is 
plastic,  when  impressions  are  easily  and  deeply  made; 
when  influences  are  unconsciously  received  and  indelibly 
registered.  As  we  grow  older  our  impressions  are  less 
strong;  the  dent  in  our  memory  is  less  pronounced  and 
in  time  of  old  age  it  is  the  impressions  of  youth  that 
crowd  out  everything  else.  So  the  work  of  the  Sunday 
School  is  beyond  figures,  beyond  knowledge.  The  privi- 
lege of  standing  before  the  young  mind  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  of  creating  impressions  and  imparting  sacred 
knowledge  by  precept  and  example  is  not  one  to  be  lightly 
entered  into.  The  possible  effect  is  too  great.  No  one 
should  belittle  his  task  and  privilege  and  no  one  should 
enter  into  it  without  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility  and 
dependence  upon  Almighty  God. 

I  am  glad  to  be  with  you  and  stand  before  you  once 
more.  I  am  glad  that  I  received  much  of  my  training 
here  and  can  be  counted  as  one  of  you.  May  God  in  His 
infinite  love  and  power,  make  this  anniversary  the  open- 
ing to  a  larger  and  even  better  work. 


At  the  Evening  Service  Dr.   Brokaw  presided   and  a 
large  congregation  greeted  Dr.  Bachman.  who  was  the 


42  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

only  living  minister  that  had  been  pastor  of  the  Church. 
He  had  also  been  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School 
for  five  years. 

SERMON  OF  REV.  ROBERT  L.  BACHMAN 

DEUTERONOMY  6:6-7. 

"These  wobds  which  I  command  thee  this  day,   shall  be  in 

THINE    HEART:     AND    THOU    SHALT    TEACH    THEM    DILIGENTLY    UNTO 
THY    CHILDREN. " 

Many  great  questions  confront  this  country.  No  one 
of  them  is  of  greater  importance  than  moral  and  religious 
education.  This  question  involves,  not  merely  the  wel- 
fare of  the  individual,  but  it  involves  the  preservation 
and  perpetuity  of  the  home,  the  church,  and  the  state. 
How  to  secure  such  education  is  one  of  our  national 
enigmas.  As  yet  no  satisfactory  solution  of  it  has  been 
reached,  although  many  of  the  wisest  men  of  the  land 
have  often  considered  it. 

For  years  our  general  Government,  has  maintained  a 
great  system  of  education  at  an  annual  cost  of  many  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  The  object  of  this  system  is  to  make 
good  and  intelligent  citizens,  and  thereby  secure  the 
greater  stability  and  efficiency  of  the  Republic.  This  is 
a  most  worthy  object,  and  it  has  the  sympathy  and  sanc- 
tion of  all  right-minded  people.  Yet  according  to  one  of 
the  fundamental  principles  of  our  government,  namely, 
separation  of  Church  and  State,  our  public  schools  can 
not  teach  morals  or  religion.  It  is  stoutly  maintained 
that  to  do  so  would  be  a  violation,  in  many  instances,  of 
individual  conscience  and  personal  liberty.  Consequently 
the  public  schools  apply  themselves  to  the  intellectual 
nature  of  their  pupils,  and  to  the  inculcating  of  facts  and 
principles  calculated  to  best  fit  them  for  the  duties  of 
citizenship.  The  results  of  this  course  have  not  been 
altogether  satisfactory.  In  the  judgment  of  many  they 
have  been  discouraging,  for  the  records  of  criminology 
show  that  there  has  been  little,  if  anv.  decrease  of  crime 


REV.  ROBERT  L.  BACHMAN.  D.  D. 


SERMON    OF    REV.    ROBERT    L.    BACHMAN  43 

and  lawlessness  in  our  land,  under  the  tutelage  of  the 
public  schools.  Some  affirm  that  there  are  more  crim- 
inals now.  in  proportion  to  our  population,  than  there 
were  thirty  years  ago.  If  this  is  only  approximately  true, 
then  it  is  evident  that  our  governmental  system  of  educa- 
tion is  failing  to  accomplish  its  primary  purpose:  the 
making  of  good  and  law-abiding  citizens. 

Naturally  the  question  arises,  what  is  the  cause  of  this 
failure?  The  evident  answer  is,  neglect  of  the  moral 
nature  of  children  and  youth.  The  Government  frankly 
admits  that  it  cannot  teach  them  a  system  of  Christian 
morals,  without  infringing  upon  the  principle  of  personal 
religious  liberty.  The  greatest  moral  asset  of  its  schools 
is  found  in  the  character  of  their  teachers.  This  is  the 
salt  that  purifies  and  preserves  the  public  schools  from 
absolute  godlessness.  The  Christian  example  and  influ- 
ence of  their  teachers  are  worth  more  to  the  young  people 
whom  they  are  fashioning  for  citizenship,  than  the  elab- 
orate historic,  scientific  and  literary  curriculums  they  are 
required  to  teach.  Were  it  not  for  the  direct  and  indirect 
Christian  influence  wThich  emanates  from  the  teachers,  the 
public  schools  would  have  scarcely  a  scintilla  of  Christian 
morals  in  them.  For  their  text  books  are  largely  expur- 
gated of  all  Christian  ethics,  of  all  reference  to  the  historic 
Man  of  Galilee,  of  all  mention  of  the  very  name  of  Deity. 
So  under  present  conditions,  we  cannot  hopefully  look  to 
our  public  schools  for  moral,  much  less  for  religious  edu- 
cation. Yet  since  Jews,  Catholics,  and  Protestants  all 
accept  the  Ten  Commandments  as  the  moral  law  of  God: 
and  since  many  of  the  most  important  civil  laws  of  our 
land  rest  upon  these  commandments,  it  does  seem  as  if 
there  might  be,  and  as  if  there  ought  to  be,  a  general 
agreement  to  have  these  commandments  taught  in  the 
primary  grades  of  the  public  schools.  If  this  were  done, 
a  great  and  important  advance  would  be  made  in  supple- 
menting their  intellectual  teaching  with  moral  teaching. 
Many  schools,  academies  and  colleges  which  were  once 
conspicuous  for  moral  and  Christian  instruction  have 
passed  away.     The  onward  march  of  the  public  school. 


44  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

and  the  creation  of  great  moneyed  educational  founda- 
tions by  millionaires,  have  sounded  their  death-knell. 
Here  and  there  a  few  of  them  remain,  still  holding  aloft 
the  torch  of  religious  learning.  Like  the  last  of  the  brave, 
old  Mohicans,  they  doubtless  will  soon  pass.  The  classic, 
virtuous  shades  which  have  long  known  them,  will  know 
them  no  more,  and  they  will  be  catalogued  only  as  fond 
memories.  Then  the  whole  educational  system  of  this 
country,  from  the  little  school  in  the  mountain  glen,  to 
the  great  university  in  the  populous  city,  will  be  under 
the  domination  of  the  civil  Government:  a  Government 
which  will  proclaim  to  its  millions  of  citizens:  No  religion. 
no  morals  taught  here. 

Then  through  what  agencies  can  moral  and  religious 
instruction  be  given  to  the  children  and  youth  of  this 
land? 

Through  the  family.  Under  the  Jewish  theocracy,  par- 
ents were  required  to  teach  Jehovah's  commands  to  their 
children.  Just  before  surrendering  his  leadership  of  the, 
mighty  host  he  had  conducted  through  the  wilderness  for 
forty  years,  Moses  uttered  these  memorable  works:  "Hear, 
O  Israel !  The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord :  and  thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might.  And  these  words  which 
T  command  thee  this  day  shall  be  in  thine  heart :  and  thou 
shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy  children,  and  shalt 
talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  and  when 
thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and 
when  thou  risest  up."     (Deut.  6:4-7). 

This  work  of  instruction  in  the  home  was  to  be  first 
and  foremost ;  it  was  to  be  performed  diligently  and  per- 
sistently. It  was  so  important  and  so  essential,  that  it 
was  given  the  right  of  way  over  everything  else  in  the 
home.  This  parental  responsibility,  respecting  religious 
instruction,  was  carried  forward  into  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation. Writing  to  thp  E<phesians  Paul  said:  "Fathers 
provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath;  but  bring  them  up  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  (Eph.     6:4). 

This  exhortation  has  been  repeated  and  emphasized  for 


SERMON    OF    REV.    ROBERT   L.    BACH  MAN  45 

nearly  two  thousand  years.  Christian  homes  have  beer 
long  looked  to  as  schools  of  morals  and  religion.  Many 
of  them  have  proved  to  be  such.  In  them  stood  the  family 
altar,  from  which  daily  prayer  ascended  to  the  throne  of 
divine  grace.  In  them  was  the  old  family  bible,  from 
which  were  daily  read  the  precepts  and  the  promises  of 
the  covenant-keeping  God.  In  them  was  heard  the  famil- 
iar Christian  song,  as  the  incense  of  praise  rose  heaven- 
ward. In  these  respects  sad  changes  have  come  to  many 
Christian  homes.  The  children  in  them  seldom,  if  ever. 
hear  tin-  voice  of  their  parents  in  family  devotions,  or  in 
serious  converse  about  religion. 

In  addition  to  such  homes,  there  are  thousands  of  others 
which  are  wholly  godless.  The  parents  in  them  make  no 
pretension  to  religion,  and  many  of  them  are  grossly 
immoral.  So  far  as  biblical  instruction  is  concerned,  the 
children  in  such  families,  might  as  well  be  in  pagan  lands. 
If  we  depend  upon  the  home  as  now  constituted  and  con- 
ducted, even  upon  the  modern  Christian  home,  for  the 
moral  and  religious  instruction'  of  children,  we  are  depend- 
ing upon  a  broken  reed. 

The  Church :  it  is  the  divinely  appointed  agent  for  pro- 
claiming God's  revealed  will  to  men,  and  for  enforcing 
his  commands  upon  the  human  conscience.  From  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  it  has  been  engaged  in  this  great  mission. 
and  it  will  continue  in  this  world-wide  work  unto  the  end 
of  the  gospel  dispensation.  At  the  present  time,  the 
Church  directly  has  very  little  hold  upon,  or  contact  with 
children  and  youth.  In  its  formal  Sabbath  assemblies. 
children  are  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  A  very  small 
per  cent  of  them  attend  the  sanctuary  services.  The 
family  church  pew  is  largely  a  thing  of  the  past,  because 
the  family  does  not  attend  church.  In  by-gone  days  the 
family  pew  was  a  sacred  unifier  of  the  household.  It 
brought  together  parents  and  children,  old  and  young,  in 
God's  house,  on  God's  day,  and  for  God's  worship.  Now 
the  plow-share  of  division  runs  through  that  pew,  and  only 
the  adult  members  of  the  family  occupy  it.  The  children 
in  the  home  do  not   know  what  it  is.  or  where  it   is.     So 


46  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

under  present  conditions  we  cannot  look  to  the  Church 
directly,  as  an  efficient  agent  for  giving  moral  and  relig- 
ious education  to  children. 

The  public  school,  the  home,  the  church  largely  fail  in 
this  most  important  matter.  While  they  accomplish  good 
and  great  things  along  many  lines,  yet  they  break  down 
at  this  most  vital  point. 

Where  then  is  the  agent  which  most  effectually  reaches 
and  teaches  children  and  youth  moral  and  religious  truth? 
It  is  the  Sunday  School.  This  school  is  the  only  educa- 
tional institution  which  makes  the  Bible  its  one  text  book, 
and  the  moral  welfare  of  children  its  one  supreme  object. 
In  this  it  supplements  all  other  educational  systems,  and 
proves  itself  morally  superior  to  the  public  school,  and  to 
many  of  our  largest,  oldest,  and  wealthiest  colleges  and 
universities.  It  lays  emphasis  on  what  these  institutions 
largely  ignore,  the  moral  nature  of  the  young.  Upon  this 
nature,  in  the  formative  period  of  life,  it  enforces  the 
principles  and  precepts  of  God,  and  thus  gives  right  direc- 
tion to  present  and  future  conduct.  It  recognizes  and 
emphasizes  the  divine  command:  "Keep  thy  heart  with 
all  diligence,  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life."  (Prov. 
4:23).  The  genesis  of  conduct  is  not  in  the  intellectual 
but  in  the  moral  nature;  it  is  not  in  the  head,  but  in  the 
heart.  From  it  come  the  issues  of  life,  or  the  issues  of 
death.  The  Sunday  School  is  the  largest  and  most  val- 
uable school  in  the  world.  In  Protestant  Sabbath  Schools 
alone,  there  are  over  thirty  millions  of  attendants,  of 
whom  eighteen  millions  are  in  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada. This  number  is  rapidly  increasing  with  the  passing 
of  the  years. 

The  great  value  of  the  school  is  seen  in  the  moral  char- 
acter it  makes  and  develops.  This  is  the  product  the 
world  most  needs;  and  it  is  the  product  after  which  the 
world  is  blindly  groping.  It  is  turning  hither  and  thither 
to  find  men  and  women  of  honesty,  of  truthfulness,  of 
trust-worthiness,  of  sterling  righteousness.  And  in  its 
search  this  old  wicked  world  often  grows  pessimistic,  be- 
cause it  finds  so  few  for  whom  it  looks.     The  Sunday 


SERMON    OF    REV.    ROBERT    L.    BACHMAN  47 

School  is  trying  to  increase  this  number;  trying  to  give 
the  world  more  good  men  and  good  women  ;  trying  to  make 
good  citizens,  not  only  intellectually,  but  morally;  cit- 
izens who  will  do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly 
before  God.  Unto  these  ends  the  Sunday  School  exalts 
the  old  Bible,  and  urges  young  and  old  to  read  it,  to  study 
it.  to  learn  it,  to  practise  it.  assuring  them  that  it  is  the 
character-making  book.  Dr.  Waite,  the  notorious  mur- 
derer, who  was  recently  sentenced  to  death,  on  his  own 
confession,  said:  "If  I  had  read  the  Bible  some  fifteen 
years  ago,  as  I  have  since  1  have  been  in  the  Tombs,  I 
would  never  have  been  heard  of,  except  in  some  honor- 
able pursuit." 

The  Sunday  School  is  the  most  patriotic  school.  This 
is  said  with  all  due  respect  to  the  many  educational  insti- 
tutions in  the  land.  Americans  are  much  given  to  mouth- 
ing their  patriotism ;  to  proclaiming  from  the  house-tops 
their  love  and  loyalty  to  country.  Yet  many  of  them 
violate  civil  law,  secularize  God's  day,  and  never  darken 
the  door  of  His  house.  The  Sunday  School  discounts  much 
patriotism,  and  regards  it  of  little  value.  It  shows  that 
the  true  lover  of  his  country,  is  one  who  respects  its  laws, 
and  the  laws  of  God ;  one  who  maintains  a  decent  life,  and 
sets  a  right  example  for  others ;  one  who  counts  it  as 
great  a  service  to  live  for  his  country,  as  to  die  for  it. 

The  slogan  of  to-day  is  preparedness;  military  and  naval 
readiness  for  possible,  but  not  probable  war.  Unusual 
legislation  has  been  enacted,  and  unprecedented  financial 
appropriations  have  been  made  unto  this  end.  Be  this 
wise  or  unwise  the  greatest  need  of  this  country  is  moral 
preparedness.  What  is  the  value  of  dreadnaughts,  of  sub- 
marines, of  aeroplanes,  of  mammoth  cannons,  of  the  most 
improved  munitions  of  war.  without  the  right  kind  of  men 
behind  the  guns?  Men  with  clear  vision,  with  steady 
nerves,  with  healthy  bodies,  with  physical  endurance,  as 
well  as  with  brave  hearts?  Yet  it  is  difficult  to  find  such 
men  in  this  great  land  of  ours.  This  is  the  repeated  testi- 
mony of  army  and  navy  recruiting  officers.  Captain 
Pinkerton,  chief  of  the  recruiting  bureau  of  the  United 


48  MEMORIAL    BOOK. 

States  marines,  is  reported  to  have  said,  that  eleven  thou- 
sand and  twelve  men  applied  for  enlistment  at  the  New 
York  recruiting  station  during  the  present  year,  and  that 
of  this  number  only  three  hundred  and  sixteen,  twenty- 
nine  in  a  thousand,  or  one  in  thirty-five,  were  found  phy- 
sically fit  for  service.  If  a  similar  condition  of  manhood 
exists  throughout  this  country,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
raise  an  army  of  a  million  of  men,  capable  of  undergoing 
the  hardships  of  a  rigorous  war  campaign.  Healthy, 
physically  strong  men,  are  one  of  the  best  assets  of  a 
nation  in  time  of  peace,  or  in  time  of  war.  This  asset 
is  mainly  the  product  of  the  observance  of  fundamental 
physical  laws,  of  purity  of  conduct,  of  clean,  moral  living. 
This  is  the  kind  of  living  inculcated  and  commended  by 
the  Sunday  School;  that  living  which  avoids  hurtful, 
depleting  habits ;  that  exalts  and  honors  a  sound  body ; 
that  esteems  health  as  of  great  value,  not  only  to  its  pos- 
sessor, but  to  his  country. 

A  few  years  since,  the  President  of  Chicago  University 
called  attention  to  the  lamentable  moral  decadence  of  the 
present  age.  In  this  connection  he  said:  "If  there  is  to 
be  social  and  political  regeneration  in  our  Republic,  and 
in  the  rest  of  the  world,  it  must  be  by  a  tremendous  regen- 
eration of  moral  ideals.  We  recognize  in  the  world's  life 
to-day,  four  prolific  sources  of  evil,  and  from  these  sources 
eome  the  disruptive  forces  which  are  so  seriously  tending 
to  disintegrate  the  society  of  the  twentieth  century.  One 
of  these  is  international.  It  is  war.  Another  is  dishon- 
esty, permeating  public  and  private  life  alike,  tainting  the 
administration  of  justice,  tainting  our  legislative  halls, 
tainting  the  conduct  of  private  business,  polluting,  at 
times,  even  the  Church  itself.  Another  vital  source  of 
infinite  evil  is  drunkenness.  The  fourth  source  of  infinite 
evil  in  modern  society  is  the  impurity  of  word  and  act. 
All  these  great  sources  of  evil  would  be  eliminated  at 
once,  if  only  the  fundamental  principles  of  Christianity 
ruled  in  the  great  majority  of  human  hearts  and  souls." 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Sunday  School  to  plant  these 
principles  in  the  hearts  of  the  young,  so  that  they  may 


REV.  SAMUEL  P.  SPRECHER.  D.  D. 


SERMON    OF    REV.    ROBERT    L.    BACHMAN  49 

grow  up  to  be  moral,  useful,  patriotic  citizens  of  the 
Republic. 

When  Secretary  of  State,  John  Hay  said:  "'The  only 
safe  rule  for  nations,  as  for  individuals,  is  to  walk  by  the 
Grol'dien  Rule,  'Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.'  "  (Matt.  7  :12).  By  em- 
phasizing this  rule,  by  imbedding  it  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  children  and  youth,  by  stimulating  them  to  make  it  the 
constant  governor  of  their  conduct,  the  Sunday  School  is 
rendering  a  great  patriotic  service  to  our  country,  and  to 
the  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  Sunday  School  is  a  religious  school.  It  not  only 
teaches  the  purest  morals  known  to  men;  it  not  only  stimu- 
lates them  to  be  good  neighbors  and  good  citizens;  it  not 
only  lays  upon  their  conscience  the  commandments  of  God  ; 
but  it  presents  to  them  the  great  Teacher  and  his  mar- 
vellous teachings.  It  holds  up  Jesus  Christ  as  the  friend 
of  sinners,  as  the  savior  of  the  lost,  as  the  comforter  of 
the  sorrowing,  as  the  guide  of  the  erring,  as  the  perfect 
example,  as  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 

The  Sunday  School  is  the  real  nursery  of  the  Church; 
her  chief  recruiting  ground.  Eighty  per  cent  of  her  con- 
verts come  from  it.  And  they  come  not  from  the  ranks 
of  old  age,  or  middle  life,  or  early  manhood  and  woman- 
hood, but  they  come  from  the  ranks  of  childhood  and 
youth;  from  the  period  of  life  which  promises  the  long- 
es-1  and  best  service  to  the  Church,  and  to  the  world. 

The  Sunday  School  not  only  makes  converts,  but  it 
grounds  them  in  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity,  devel- 
ops them  in  character,  and  directs  them  in  the  way  of  use- 
ful service.  It  fits  and  stimulates  them  for  membership 
in  the  various  Young  People's  religious  societies.  With 
their  advancing  years  and  maturer  experience,  they  be- 
come the  stay  and  staff  of  missionary  organizations,  and 
the  most  effective  workers  in  the  fields  of  Charity  and 
Reform. 

Recently  there  was  a  meeting  of  French  and  British 
army  officers  in  Paris.  After  a  long  discussion  as  to  the 
needs  of  the  Allies  in  the  way  of  millions  of  men   and 


50  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

billions  of  money,  the  French  Statesman,  Clemenceau, 
said:  "Gentlemen,  what  France  most  needs  is  forty  mil- 
lions of  Christians."  Facing  great  national  dangers,  and 
great  military  emergencies,  this  man  of  affairs  placed 
the  highest  premium  upon  Christian  life  and  character 
This  is  practically  the  rule  in  the  business,  in  the  pro- 
fessional, in  the  social  world.  In  them  Christian  char- 
acter is  never  depreciated,  but  it  is  always  appreciated. 
It  is  never  discounted,  but  it  always  commands  a  prem- 
ium. Christian  life  and  character  are  the  things  most 
prized  by  the  Sunday  School ;  and  unto  their  attainment 
it  diligently  labors  and  earnestly  prays. 

As  the  Sunday  School  is  such  an  efficient  agent  in  giv- 
ing moral  and  religious  instruction ;  in  making  law-abid- 
ing citizens ;  in  winning  converts  to  Christ ;  in  upbuilding 
and  .strengthening  the  Church  ;  in  providing  the  land  with 
its  best  charitable,  reformatory  and  religious  workers, 
surely  it  deserves,  and  should  have  the  sympathy  and  aid 
of  all  who  long  for  purer  morals,  for  better  and  happier 
homes,  for  stronger  and  more  active  churches,  for  a  right 
eous  and  peaceable  civil  government. 

It  should  have  the  respect  and  sympathy  of  the  Repub- 
lic, in  view  of  the  moral  teaching  it  gives  to  her  coming 
citizens.  It  should  have  the  co-operation  of  all  the  fol- 
lowers of  Christ,  for  the  service  it  renders  in  advancing 
His  Kingdom.  It  should  have  the  love,  sympathy,  and 
prayers  of  all  parents  who  relegate  their  children  to  it 
for  religious  instruction.  It  should  receive  hearty  and 
generous  financial  support  from  those  who  enjoy  large 
temporal  blessings.  It  should  have  a  more  commanding 
position  in  the  work  of  the  Church,  and  a  more  convenient 
time  for  its  Sabbath  session.  For  time  immemorial  the 
the  Protestant  Church  has  held  two  formal  preaching 
services  on  the  Lord's  day.  For  some  years  and  for  many 
reasons,  the  second  service  has  been  losing  its  hold  upon 
church  going  people.  Without  some  special  attraction,  it 
now  gathers  only  a  small  number  of  worshippers,  and  is 
generally  regarded  as  a  failure.  These  conditions  indicate 
that  the  Church  should  so  readjust  her  Sabbath  services 


SERMON    OF    KKV.    ROBERT    I..    BACIIMAN  5] 

as  tu  make  them  more  efficient  in  reaching  and  instructing 
the  people,  and  in  worshipping  God.  As  there  is  no  biblical 
requirement  for  two  preaching  services  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  as  one  of  them  is  sadly  failing  to  accomplish  its 
designed  purpose,  it  is  my  humble  opinion,  that  it  would 
We  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  more  rapid  advancement 
of  his  kingdom,  to  make  the  Sunday  School  the  second 
regular  service  on  the  Lord's  day;  holding  it  at  the  most 
convenient  hour  in  the  afternoon.  Let  there  be  one  dis- 
tinct preaching  service,  and  one  distinct  teaching  service. 
Let  children  attend  the  one  with  their  parents.  Let  par- 
ents attend  the  other  with  their  children.  Such  an 
arrangement  would  dignify  the  Sunday  School,  and  com- 
mend it  to  adults,  many  of  whom  now  look  upon  it  as 
simply  a  school  for  children.  This  arrangement  would 
do  much  in  forming  the  church-going  habit  on  the  part  of 
the  young,  and  in  preserving  the  Sabbath  from  growing 
desecration.  Should  it  be  deemed  wise  to  have  a  third 
religious  service  on  the  Lord's  day,  let  it  be  a  non-sectar- 
ian, union  evangelistic  meeting  at  night.  In  my  opinion 
such  readjustment  of  Sabbath  services  would  bring  them 
in  closer  harmony  with  gospel  methods,  impart  a  better 
religious  education  to  children,  win  more  converts  to  the 
Lord  Jesus,  awaken  a  new  spiritual  interest  on  the  part 
of  believers,  and  bring  them  into  closer  union  and  Chris- 
tian fellowship. 

When  tah»e  dogs  of  war  were  unchained,  a  little  more 
than  two  years  ago,  and  the  nations  of  Europe  grappled 
in  the  bloodiest  conflict  the  world  has  ever  seen,  men  at 
once  began  to  criticize  the  Christian  Church,  and  to  ask- 
why  it  did  not  prevent  such  an  appalling  and  lamentable 
event.  Why  did  they  not  pass  such  criticism  upon,'  and 
propound  such  questions  to  science,  to  art,  to  philosophy, 
to  reason,  to  secular  education,  to  finance,  to  commerce'.' 
Because  they  instinctively  felt  that  these  things,  upon 
which  Europe  had  laid  emphasis  for  centuries,  were  not 
the  greatest,  the  best,  the  most  powerful  things  after  all ; 
that  they  were  not  the  regenerators  of  civil  governments, 
nor  the  safe  guide  of  Kings.  Emporors.  Presidents.  Czars, 


52  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

nor  the  protector  and  preserver  of  a  selfish,  wicked,  war- 
ing world.     Turning  from  these  things,  the  critics  looked 
to  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  one  agent  of  all 
agents,  which  might  have  saved  the  world  from  the  blood- 
iest war  of  the  ages.     Thus,  unwittingly,  they  paid  the 
highest    possible    compliment    to    the    Christian    Church. 
They    turned    from    the    laboratories,    the    museums,    the 
scholarly    sanctums    and    the    far-famed    universities    of 
Europe,  to  her  cathedrals,  to  her  churches,  to  her  humble 
chapels,  to  the  places  where  God  was  worshipped,  and 
where  his  word  was  preached.     To  these  they  looked  for 
salvation  from  the  god  of  war.     And  doubtless  they  would 
not  have  looked  in  vain,  had  the  Church  for  the  past  cen- 
tury, fearlessly  proclaimed  and  faithfully  applied  to  the 
human  heart,  the  all-round  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.     That 
gospel  which  demands  that  men  shall  do  to  others,  as  they 
would  have  others  do  to  them ;  that  they  shall  possess  and 
manifest  the  spirit  of  good  will;  that  they  shall  be  kind 
one  to  another,  tender-hearted  and  forgiving;  that  they 
shall  love  their  neighbors  as  themselves;  that  they  shall 
love  their  enemies,  and  pray  for  those  who  despitefully 
use.   them.     The   present   and   future   hope    of   the   world 
depends  upon  the  wide  proclamation  of  these  and  similar 
gospel  truths,  and  the  faithful  application  of  them  to  the 
minds,  hearts,  and  consciences  of  men.     If  this  work  shall 
be  accomplished,  it  will  largely  be  through  the  agency  of 
the  Sunday  School ;  that  school  which  tutors  the  young 
in  the  formative,  and  in  the  most  impressible  period  of 
life;  that  school  which  has  for  its  object  the  making  of 
manly,  womanly,  christian   character;  that  school  which 
teaches   the    purest    moral®,    and    the   best    religion    known 
to  the  world. 

For  one  hundred  years  this  Sunday  School  has  been 
stamping,  upon  successive  generations,  the  teachings  of 
the  great  Teacher.  Thousands  of  boys  and  girls,  and 
older  ones  have  felt  its  potent  touch  for  good.  Hundreds 
have  been  gathered  from  it  into  the  Church.  As  the 
followers  of  Christ,  they  have  gone  out  into  active  life, 
where   they    have    honored    God    and   blessed    the    world. 


SERMON    OF    REV.    ROBERT    L.    BACHMAM  53 

Some  of  them  preached  the  gospel  in  the  home  land,  and 
others  have  carried  it  across  the  seas  to  the  benighted 
millions  of  heathendom.  Many  of  them  have  passed  the 
bound  of  human  life,  and  now  enjoy  the  activities  and  the 
felicities  of  the  life  eternal. 

T  congratulate  those  of  you  who  are  now  members  of 
the  School.  You  are  in  a  line  of  noble  succession.  You 
follow  the  path  made  honorable  and  secred  by  the  tread  of 
saints;  the  path  of  the  best  and  highest  service  to  man- 
kind; the  path  that  leads  to  the  truest  and  most  abiding 
earthly  satisfaction;  the  path  that  leads  to  great  and 
enduring  rewards  in  the  blessed  Beyond.  In  following 
this  path,  you  may  often  become  faint-hearted  and  dis- 
couraged, and  feel  that  your  teaching,  or  your  learning, 
the  old  story  of  the  loving  and  the  dying  Christ,  is  of  little 
value  to  you,  or  to  others.  In  these  days  when  so  man> 
push  themselves  into  the  lime  light  of  publicity,  and  hear 
their  deeds  proclaimed  and  praised  by  their  admiring  fel- 
lows, you  may  feel  that  your  quiet,  unnoticed  work  in 
the  School  of  Christ,  is  scarcely  worth  the  doing.  If  you 
fall  into  such  a  Slough  of  Despond,  remember  that  the 
mightiest  forces  in  this  world  are  silent.  Whoever  heard 
gravitation,  that  power  which  pervades  the  universe,  hold- 
ing the  myriad  stars  in  their  places,  and  the  whirling 
planets  in  their  orbits?  Whoever  heard  electricity,  as  it 
flashes  through  space,  turning  night  into  day,  propelling 
countless  tonnage  as  if  it  were  a  feather's  weight;  leap- 
ing the  highest  mountains,  and  plunging  through  the 
deepest  seas,  carrying  human  messages  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth?  Whoever  heard  influence,  that  subtile,  indefin- 
able something  which  passes  from  one  personality  to 
another,  with  blessing  or  cursing:  that  spiritual  force 
which  lifts  men  heavenward,  or  hurls  them  down  the  steeps 
of  moral  ruin1;  that  asspf  which  brings  one  into  kinship 
with  the  Man  of  Galilee,  or  fits  him  for  companionship 
with  the  meanest  devils  of  the  darkest  pit?  Your  work 
in  the  Sunday  School  may  be  unnoticed,  unheralded,  un- 
applauded  by  an  excitement-loving  world ;  yet  it  is  far 
more  effective  in  blessing  men   and   honoring  Cod.   than 


54  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

many  things  which  are  loudly  trumpeted  by  an  ignorant, 
thoughtless  public.  Remember  that  you  are  compassed 
about  with  a  great  cloud  of  earthly  and  heavenly  wit- 
nesses. The  best  and  most  intelligent  people  in  the  land 
commend  your  work.  And  it  is  approved  by  the  glorified 
saints,  by  the  holy  angels,  and  by  the  triune  God.  Then 
lay  aside  the  weight  and  sin  of  discouragement,  and  gird 
up  your  minds  and  hearts  anew  with  faith  and  hope  and 
courage.  "Be  ye  steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abound- 
ing in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  for  as  much  as  ye  know  that 
your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."     (1  Cor.  15:58). 

More  than  a  century  ago  a  medal  was  struck  in  France. 
On  one  side  it  bore  the  name  and  date  of  a  great  battle 
fought  by  Napoleon  Bonepart.  On  the  reverse  side  were 
the  simple  words:  "I  was  there."  The  medal  was  given 
to  every  old  soldier,  then  living,  who  fought  on  that  bloody 
field.  He  cherished  it  as  his  most  prized  possession.  With 
commendable  pride  he  bequeathed  it  to  his  children.  They 
carefully  preserved  it  as  their  most  precious  treasure. 

In  the  day  of  final  accounting,  when  your  book  of 
earthly  memories  shall  be  opened,  and  when  your  earthly 
record  shall  be  tested,  it  will  be  to  your  credit  and  honor 
to  say  of  this  dear  old  Sunday  School:  "I  was  there." 
I  was  there ;  sitting  at  the  feet  of  the  great  Teacher,  learn- 
ing of  Him  the  way  of  salvation ;  learning  of  Him  the  way 
of  obedience  to  the  divine  commands ;  learning  of  Him 
the  way  of  hope,  courage,  fortitude,  patience  through  the 
precious  promises ;  learning  of  Him  the  way  to  live  on 
earth;  learning  of  Him  the  way  to  the  Father's  House  on 
high.  And  when  you  stand  before  the  great  Ruler,  Re- 
viewer, and  Rewarder  of  men,  it  will  afford  you  unspeak- 
able comfort  to  hear  Him  say:  "Well  done,  thou  good 
and  faithful  servant :  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord. ' ' 
(Matt.  25:21). 


LETTERS 

On  Monday  evening  letters  from  former  members  of  the 
School  and  others  were  read  by  Dr.  Bachman  and  short 
addresses  were  made  by  pastors  of  other  churches. 

From  Rev.  Robert  H.  Life 

Haydenville.   Mass.,  October   11,   1916. 
Mb.  Jules  G.  Doux, 

Utica,  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Me.  Doux: 

Your  kind  invitation  to  take  part  in  the  exercises  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  Sunday  School  is  very  much  appreciated.  It  is  a  delight- 
ful reminder  of  the  two  years  that  I  spent  with  you.  I  regret 
that  I  cannot  be  present  on  that  occasion  as  engagements  already 
made  for  Sunday  make  it  impossible.  Please  convey  my  regrets 
to  the  committee,  with  hearty  thanks  for  the  invitation,  and  very 
best  wishes  for  the  entire  success  of  the  Celebration;  and  my 
earnest  hope  that  it  may  be  with  the  Sunday  School,  as  it  was 
with  the  Patriarchs,  who  at  one  hundred  years  of  age,  were  just 
beginning  life.  Cordially  yours, 

ROBERT  H.  LIFE. 


From  Rev.   Frank   W.   Murtfeldl 

October    12.    1916. 
Mb.  Jules  D.  Doux, 
Utica.  N.  Y. 
My  deab  Mb.  Doux: 

I  am  sorry  to  have  to  reply  to  your  kind  invitation  that  it 
will  be  impossible  for  me  to  be  present.  I  knew,  of  course,  of 
the  proposed  Centennial  Celebration  but  did  not  know  that  you 
would  care  to  have  me  figure  in  it.  And  so,  at  this  rather  late 
date,  I  find  that  I  have  filled  up  my  Sunday  with  another  speak- 
ing engagement  besides  my  regular  speaking  services.  I  am 
sorry  that  this  is  so  for  I  do  think  a  great  deal  of  the  Sunday 
School  of  the  old  First  Church  in  Utica — I  mean  of  the  boys  and 
girls  in  it.     Some  of  them  are  still  my  very  best  friends. 

I  do  wish  for  the  Church  and  for  the  young  people  in  the 
Church  another  successful  hundred  years.  And  may  you  all  grow 
in  the  service  of  the  Master. 

FRANK  W.   MURTFELDT. 


56  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

From   Charles  H.   Parsons 

Toledo,  O.,  October  13,  1916. 
Mb.  Jules  Doux, 

Utica,  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Mr.  Doux: 

Your  favor  of  the  9th  inst.,  in  which  you  say  it  is  desired 
that  I  should  be  present  next  Sunday  at  the  Centennial  Anniver- 
sary of  the  Sunday  School  and  make  a  three-minute  talk,  came 
to  hand  during  my  absence  and  I  find  the  same  awaiting  me  on 
my  return  this  morning. 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  the  shortness  of  the  notice  and 
engagements  which  are  imperative,  will  make  it  impossible  for 
me  to  be  present. 

I  received  formal  notice  some  time  ago,  advising  me  that 
the  Old  First  Church  and  Sunday  School  were  to  celebrate  their 
hundredth  anniversary,  and  I  wished  then  that  I  might  plan  to 
be  present.  I  am  exceedingly  sorry  that  I  cannot,  for  I  have  the 
most  pleasant  recollections  of  the  few  years  I  was  associated 
with  the  Old  First  Church. 

I  should  like  to  be  there  to  greet  the  many  friends  of  those 
days  and  I  wish  Godspeed  to  Dr.  Brokaw  and  the  many  splendid 
people  who  are  associated  with  him.  Those  were  indeed  very 
pleasant  years  and  I  shall  always  remember  them  with  unusual 
satisfaction.  There  have,  of  course,  been  a  great  many  changes. 
Many  of  those  who  were  present  and  faithful  in  their  work  have 
long  since  gone  to  their  reward.  Probably  among  them  all,  the 
one  who  stands  out  most  prominently  in  my  mind,  is  Mrs.  Bussey. 
Of  course,  she  died  while  I  was  still  there,  but  I  often  think  of 
her  and  the  wondrous  devotion  and  fidelity  with  which  she 
served  the  Old  First  Church  and  Sunday  School. 

I  wish  there  were  more  such  that  we  might  have  the  benefit 
and  influence  of  their  lives  and  characters.  The  world  would  be 
sweeter  and  better  if  it  were  so.  I  remember  also  Dr.  Seymour, 
old  Gen.  Darling  and  Mr.  Taylor,  who  were  always  ready  and 
willing  to  respond  to  any  request  for  help  and  counsel,  most 
enthusiastically  and  most  cordially. 

I  beg  you  to  remember  me  very  kindly  to  Dr.  Brokaw  and 
to  extend  my  greetings  to  all  the  old  friends  who  are  still  there 
and  who  remember  me,  and  I  trust  the  occasion  may  be  a  most 
happy  one  and  significant  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 

Very  truly  yours, 

CHARLES    H.    PARSONS. 


LETTERS  57 

From    John    T.    Gomph 

Toledo,  Ohio.  Oct.   13.   1916 
Mr.  Jules  G.  Doux.  Secretary. 

Utica,  New  York. 
My  dear  Mr.  Doux: 

Your  letter  of  the  9th  inst,  at  hand,  also  the  formal  invita- 
tion to  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  and  Sunday  School. 

I  have  for  some  time  been  looking  forward  to  this  event  and 
anticipating  the  enjoyment  I  would  have  in  helping  to  celebrate 
so  important  event  in  the  life  of  a  Sunday  School.  I  am  doomed 
to  disappointment. 

I  had  planned  to  go  East  and  remain  until  after  the  middle 
of  October  but  it  was  necessary  that  I  go  several  days  earlier  and. 
of  course,  I  had  to  return  early  in  September.  Matters  have 
shaped  up  so  that  I  cannot  see  my  way  clear  to  come  to  Utica 
at  this  time. 

I  wrote  my  folks  a  few  days  ago,  expressing  my  regret  that 
I  could  not  be  with  them  for  October  15th  and  16th,  so  I  must 
ask  you  to  express  my  regret  to  my  friends  in  the  First  Church 
and  Sunday  School  in  whose  service  I  took  great  delight  and 
received  much  good.  In  service  of  that  kind  one  gets  more  than 
he  puts  in  and  I  certainly  was  helped  more  than  I  can  express. 

May  the  Old  First  Church  and  Sunday  School  stand  for  many 
many  years  to  come,  giving  hope  and  encouragement  to  those 
who  need  it  so  much. 

Mrs.  Gomph  joins  me  in  greetings  to  all. 

Sincerely  yours, 

JOHN   T.   GOMPH. 


From   Rev.  Charles  H.  Walker 

Troy,  N.  Y..  October  10,  1916. 
Mr.  Jules  G.   Doux, 
Utica,  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Mr.  Doux: 

I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  very  pleasant  letter  of  invita- 
tion, extending  to  me  the  privilege  of  speaking  at  the  Centennial 
Celebration  of  my  old  home  Sunday  School.  It  happens,  how- 
ever, that  the  Sunday  School  of  my  own  Church  is  also  to  cele- 
brate its  Centennial  at  the  same  time,  and  so  I  cannot  be  away 
on  next  Sunday. 

The  formal  invitation  announces  a  Reception  for  next  Monday 
evening,  and  I  am  endeavoring  to  adjust  my  work  and  appoint- 
ments so  that  I  may  attend  that  Reception  if  possible.  Miss 
Warner,  my  former  Sunday  School  teacher,  has  written  me  about 


58  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

the  Celebration,  and  I  am  about  to  write  to  her,  and  shall  include 
in  the  letter  a  word  of  greeting  that  may  serve  to  indicate  my 
affection  for  the  old  Sunday  School,  if  I  am  unable  to  be  present 
in  person. 

Heartily  thanking  you   and  sincerely  rejoicing  in  the  occa- 
sion, I  am 

Cordially   yours, 

CHARLES  H.  WALKER. 


From  James  R.  Sheffield 

New  York,  N.  Y.,  September  28,  1916. 
Hknby  J.  Cookinham.  Esq., 

Utica.  N.  Y. 
My  deab  Mr.  Cookinham: 

I  have  delayed  answering  your  very  cordial  letter  of  Sep- 
tember 27th,  inviting  me  to  make  a  short  address  at  one  of  the 
meetings  held  in  honor  of  the  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the 
organization  of  the  Sunday  School  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  until  I  could  determine  more  fully  my  exact  plans. 

I  find  that  my  engagements  are  such  that  it  would  be  practi- 
cally impossible  to  make  any  promise  at  this  time,  as  it  is  quite 
likely  I  will  be  compelled  to  be  away  from  New  York  the  latter 
part  of  that  week  and  over  that  Sunday. 

Of  course,  I  am  deeply  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to 
Utica,  and  the  things  in  which  my  mother,  not  to  speak  of 
myself,  has  taken  so  deep  and  lifelong  an  interest.  All  the 
memories  of  my  earlier  years  are  associated  with  the  saintly 
company  of  men  and  women  whose  devotion  to  the  Sunday 
School  and  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  to  them  never  a 
duty  but  a  great  privilege. 

If  I  can  possibly  be  in  Utica  just  as  a  looker-on,  and  not  as 
a  participant,  I  should  like  it  very  much,  but  aside  from  the 
doubt  of  my  ability  to  be  there  is  my  very  sincere  feeling  that 
after  a  separation  of  thirty  years  from  the  life  and  work  of  the 
Church  in  Utica,  there  is  little  that  I  could  say  which  would 
be  helpful  or  add  to  the  interest  of  so  important  and  historic  an 
occasion. 

With  the  very  warmest  regards  to  my  old  friends,  both 
within  the  Church  and  outside  it,  and  heartfelt  appreciation 
that  I  should  have  been  asked  to  take  part  in  this  occasion, 
believe  me, 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

JAMES  R.   SHEFFIELD. 


LETTERS  59 

TO   THE   FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH    SUNDAY 
SCHOOL,    UTICA,   N.   Y. 

On    THElB    One    Hi  ndbedth    A.nnivkknaby 

A  hundred  years  of  sowing, 

For  young  souls  that  are  growing 

What   shall    the    harvest   be? 

A  hundred  years  of  praying, 

For  young  souls  that  are  straying. 

What   shall    the    answer    be? 

A  hundred  years  of  loving, 
For  young  feet  that  are  roving. 

What    will    the   saving   be? 

A   hundred   years  uplifting. 
Tares  from   the  wheat,   outsitting, 

What    will   the  granery   be? 

A  HUNDRED   YEARS.     Oh   in   that  season 
Faith  stands  triumphant  over  reason. 
Joy  —  shall   the  answer   be. 

A  Hundred  Years.     Oh,  a  hundred  years. 

Love  and  service,  toil  and  tears. 

Listen  Workers,   "Inasmuch 

As  ye  have  worked  for  the  poorest  soul. 

Keeping  it  sweet,  and  sound,  and  whole. 
That  at  the  last  it  ransomed  be, 
This  is  the  answer:     Ye  did  it  to  me." 

Eleanor  Ecob  Mouse. 

Westerleigh,  Staten  Island 
With  love  to  the  School. 


From   Rev.   Philemon   Fowler   iiturges 

Providence,  R.  I.,  October  6,  1916. 
The  Reverend  Philemon  Fowler  Sturges  sincerely  regrets  that 
his  duties  make  it  impossible  for  him  to  accept  the  kind  invita- 
tion of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Utica  to  be  present  at 
the  Centennial  Celebration  on  October  fifteenth,  and  wishes  to 
express  his  appreciation  of  the  remembrance  and  thoughtful- 
ness  of  the  invitation. 


60  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

From   Stanley  L.  Butler 

New  York  City,  October  15,  1916. 
My  deak  Dr.  Brokaw: 

Since  the  receipt  of  the  formal  announcemet  of  the  Cen- 
tennial Celebration  of  the  Sunday  School  the  duties  of  a  new 
position,  which  I  recently  secured,  have  engaged  nearly  my 
entire  attention,  otherwise  I  would  have  been  more  prompt  to 
express  to  you  my  appreciation  of  the  remembrance,  and  to  offer 
a  material  mite  for  all  the  good  work  you  do  and  represent. 

The  one  regret  here  is  that  we  are  so  far  away  we  can  not 
even  look  onto  the  happy  program. 

Among  the  very  pleasantest  memories  of  days  when  we  were 
growing  up  are  those  which  hold  the  activities  of  the  "Banner 
Class"  for  so  many  years  led  by  dear  good  Miss  Warner.  She 
had  to  stand  for  many  good-natured  slams,  and  even  seemed  to 
enjoy  them. 

To  Dr.  Bachman  please  give  my  most  cordial  greetings  and 
remembrances.     He  did  the  baptizing  of  a  long  list  of  Butlers. 

Here  is  wishing  a  good  time  and  success  to  all  the  exercises 
which  are  now  in  progress,  and  may  the  good  work  of  the 
Church  and  Sunday  School  increase  in  effectiveness. 

My  contribution  is  small,  and  with  it  much  good  will  must 
be  accepted  in  place  of  more  real  cash. 

With  most  kind  regards  always  to  yourself  and  to  Mrs. 
Brokaw  from  both  of  us.  I  am 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

STANLEY   L.   BUTLER. 


From    Rev.    J.    Hoivard    Hobbs 

Utica.    N.    Y..   October    10.    1916. 
Jules  Doxtx, 

City. 
My  dear  Mr.   Doux: 

It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  be  present  at  your  celebration  of 
the  Centennial  of  your  Bible  School  next  Monday  evening,  but 
I  have  a  previous  and  important  engagement  out  of  the  city  on 
that  date.  Let  me  congratulate  you  upon  the  historic  event  and 
all  that  it  means.  Westminster  extends  heartiest  wishes  for 
your  continued  prosperity  and  spiritual  success. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

J.    HOWARD  HOBBS. 
Westminster  Church. 


LETTERS  61 

From    Lynn    G.    Foster 

CJtica,  N.  v..  Oct.  14.  1916. 
Dr.  Ralph  W.  Brokaw, 

Utica.  N  Y. 
Dear  Db.  Brokaw: 

The  officers  and  teachers  of  Bethany  Sunday  School  extend 
greetings  and  congratulations  to  your  Sunday  School  upon  this 
Centennial  Celebration  and  trust  that  God  may  be  with  you  in 
the  future  as  he  has  been  in  the  past. 

Signed, 

LYNN  G.  FOSTER.  Sec. 
Bethany  Sunday  School. 


From    P.    M.    McKenzie 

Utica.  N.  Y.,  Oct.  16.  1916. 
Rev.  R.  W.  Brokaw.  D.  D., 

Utica.  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Dr.  Brokaw: 

Olivet,  the  youngest  Presbyterian  Sunday  School  in  the  city, 
with  its  five  hundred  members,  sends  most  cordial  greetings  to 
the  First  Presbyterian  Sunday  School  on  its  Centennial  Anni- 
versary. 

May  you  make  the  second  century  "Strong  in  the  Lord  and 
in  the  power  of  His  might." 

Olivet   Presbyterian  Sunday   School. 

P.   M.   McKENZIK. 


From    Rev.   F.   C.   Smith 

Utica.  N.  Y..  Oct.  13th,  1916. 
Jules  G.  Doux. 

Utica.  N.  Y. 
My  dear  Mr.  Doux: 

I  regret  very  much  that  I  find  that  I  shall  be  unable  to 
attend  the  reception  of  your  Sunday  School  on  Monday  next. 

Having  but  last  week  returned  from  a  prolonged  vacation  I 
find  that  there  is  so  much  to  do  and  to  give  my  personal  atten- 
tion to  that  it  is  not  advisable  for  me  to  accept  any  outside 
engagements,  even  for  such  a  brief  time. 

Allow  me  to  congratulate  your  School  on  attaining  such  a 
venerable  age.  I  wish  it  were  possible  for  me  to  listen  to  the 
recollections  of  old  time  methods  in  Sunday  School  work  which 
I  feel  sure  will  be  told  at  your  meeting.  It  would  be  most 
interesting  to  compare  them  with  the  aims  and  ideals  which  we 
have  before  us  in  the  things  which  we  are  trying  to  do  for 
religious  education  to-day. 


62  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

Thanking  you  for  your  courteous  invitation,  and  regretting 
my  inability  to  accept,  I  am 

Faithfully  yours, 
F.  C.   SMITH. 

Pastor  St.  Luke's  Church. 


From  Rev.  E.  H.  Brown 

Oct.  8,  1916. 
My  dear  Dr.  Brokaw: 

The  invitation  to  rejoice  with  you  good  people  in  the  cele- 
bration of  one  hundred  years  of  Sunday  School  life  and  activity 
was  forwarded  to  me  here  at  Clifton  Springs. 

I  am  down  to  help  my  dear  people  at  Albany  that  very  date 
to  celebrate  their  Sunday  School  Centennial  and  had  arranged 
to  go.  But  here  I've  been  for  a  week  and  here  I  must  stay  for 
a  fortnight  more  at  least. 

Please  let  me  send  in  this  most  imperfect  way  my  hearty 
congratulations  to  all  your  people  who,  with  those  who  are  now 
in  the  Church  triumphant,  have  been  building  up  the  temple  of 
God  for  these  hundred  years.  It  is  a  glorious  work  they  have 
wrought;  working  together  with  God  in  promoting  boys  and 
girls  and  youth.  Equipment  preparation  for  life — life  here  and 
life  forever.  May  the  next  century  be  a  worthy  successor  to 
the  first. 

Ever  your  Brother, 

E.   H.   BROWN. 
Pastor  First  M.  E.  Church,  Utica 


From    Rev.   Perry  J.   Stackhouse 

Utica.   N.    Y..   October    12,    1916. 
Jules  G.   Doux.  Esq.. 

Secretary   Centennial    Celebration. 
Dear  Mr.  Doux: 

I  have  been  out  of  the  city  attending  a  Baptist  Association 
hence  my  delay  in  responding  to  your  invitation  to  be  present 
at  your  Bible  School  Celebration  on  Monday  evening.  I  am  not 
certain  but  what  I  have  an  engagement  that  evening,  but  if  the 
night  is  free  I  shall  be  glad  to  extend  a  three-minute  greeting. 
In  any  case  permit  me  to  offer  my  congratulations  that  as  a 
Church  you  have  attained  your  one  hundredth  birthday. 

Very  sincerely  yours. 

PERRY  J.  STACKHOUSE. 
Pastor  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church. 


LETTERS  63 

From    Rev.    James    J.    Burd 

Utica,   N.   Y.,    Oct.    7.    L916. 
My   dkar  Dr.   Brokaw: 

Thanks  for  invitation  to  attend  "Centennial  Celebration  of 
the  Sunday  School."  Please  accept  my  hearty  congratulations 
I  extremely  regret  that  I  will  not  be  able  to  attend  as  I  have 
planned  to  leave  town  Monday  to  attend  General  Convention 
in  St.  Louis.     Good  luck  and  God  bless  you! 

Faithfully  yours, 

JAMES   J.    BURD. 
Holy  Cross  Rectory.  Utica. 


From    Rev.    Octavius    Apirteyate 

Utica,  N.   Y..  Oct.  7.   1916. 
My   dkar   Dr.   Brokaw: 

I  was  gratified  to  receive  this  morning  the  invitation  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  Centennial  exercises  and  wish 
that  I  could  share  in  some  of  them,  but  I  shall  be  in  St.  Louis  at 
that  time. 

My  affectionate  esteem  for  you  and  deep  appreciation  or  the 
noble  service  you  exemplify  in  your  Church  and  in  the  com- 
munity makes  me  especially  regret  that  I  cannot  be  with  you 
and  your  people  the  Monday  night  and  give  in  person  expression 
to  my  cordial  regard. 

Sincerely    yours, 

OCTAVIUS    APPLEGATB. 
Grace  Church.  Utica. 


From  Rev.  John   Timothy   Stone 

Chicago.    111..   October   7.    U*1fi. 
Reverend  Ralph  W.  Brokaw.,  D.  D.. 

First  Presbyterian  Church. 
Utica.  X.  Y. 
Dear  Doctor  Brokaw: 

Please  accept  the  heartiest  congratulations  of  our  Church 
and  also  of  myself  personally  for  your  Centennial  Celebration  on 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of  this  month.  What  a  wonderful  and 
splendid  record  the  old  First  Church  of  Utica  has  had!  May 
God  give  you  richer  blessings  through  the  influence  of  this  cele- 
bration. 

Ever  yours  cordially, 

JOHN   TIMOTHY    STONE. 


64  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

ADDRESS  OF  REV.  C.  F.  KITTREDGE. 
OF  WHITESBORO. 

I  consider  it  a  real  privilege  to  bear  to  you  on  this  aus- 
picious occasion  the  greetings  of  the  Old  "United  Society 
of  Whitestown,"  for  the  relationship  between  that  organ- 
ization and  this  is  very  close.  The  United  Society  of 
Whitestown  was  organized  in  1793,  and  its  parish  included 
not  only  the  region  now  known  as  Whitesboro,  but  also 
this  portion  of  the  country  now  known  as  Utica.  Serv- 
ices were  held  by  the  same  pastor  in  both  sections  of  the 
parish,  and  a  few  years  later  when  it  became  apparent 
that  the  region  could  be  better  served  in  two  parts,  no 
new  church  was  formed  here  in  Utica,  but  the  record  of 
the  transaction  reads  that  "Those  members  of  the  United 
Society  in  Whitestown  residing  in  the  Utica  District,  were 
set  off  to  the  Utica  Church."  Thus  in  the  old  records  of 
the  First  Church  of  Utica,  the  first  57  members  are  trans- 
ferred, not  by  letter,  but  simply  by  entrance  into  the 
books  under  the  date  and  conditions  of  their  union  with 
the  Whitestown  Church.  Thus  you  see  the  relationship 
is  peculiar.  By  just  what  term  of  kinship  it  should  be 
described,  I  leave  for  you  to  determine. 

Our  ancestors  builded  well,  and  if  we  as  Churches  and 
Sunday  Schools  shall  give  to  our  decendants  reason  to 
honor  us  as  we  honor  those  who  have  gone  before,  we 
shall  not  have  lived  in  vain. 


ADDRESS  OF  REV.  DANA  W.  B1GELOW,  D.  D. 

The  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Utica,  send 
through  their  pastor  most  affectionate  and  thankful  greet- 
ings to  the  Sunday  School  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  Utica— their  mother  Church.  From  the  day 
when  the  foundation  was  laid  (1848)  for  the  Sunday 
School  which  flourished  and  became  a  Church  (1868),  now 
known  as  the  Memorial  Presbyterian,  until  now  (1916), 
while  some  of  the  early  workers  in  this  good  cause  are 
still  with  us,  efficient  as  teachers  and  church  officers,  we 


REMARKS    OF    REV.    LOUIS    II.    HOLDEN  65 

have  rejoiced  that  your  faith  toward  Christ  and  love  for 
His  word  and  work  have  flowed  in  channels  that  have 
brought,  to  us  rich  spiritual  benefits. 

Some  of  your  Sunday  School  Superintendents  have  also 
served  in  the  saint'  office  in  our  School ;  many  of  your 
teachers  have  helped  in  the  satin  efficienl  way;  and  of 
your  secretaries,  one  has  carried  I'm-  many  years  in  his 
records  books,  and  in  his  heart,  the  names  of  your  enroll- 
ment and  of  our  enrollment.  All  honor  to  George  L. 
Curran. 

When  you  were  not  the  Old  Church,  but  in  the  vigor  of 
your  early  life,  in  your  thirty-second  year,  you  entered 
upon  this  near  at  hand  city  missionary  enterprise,  with 
the  purpose  and  zeal  that  have  been  characteristic  of  your 
Sunday  School  and  Church  from  first  to  last  of  these  one 
hundred  years.  The  benefit  is  not  for  one  Church  alone. 
When  any  Church  is  truly  loyal  to  Christ,  and  flourishes 
under  His  blessing,  its  example  is  an  inspiration  to  others 
and  its  good  works  witness  to  all  men  to  the  truth  and 
excellency  of  the  gospel  in  its  influences  upon  individuals, 
young  and  old.  and  upon  their  homes  and  families  and 
upon  the  community.  Your  prayers  and  offerings  and 
workers  have  also  gone  forth  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

With  gratitude  for  what  has  been  aeeomplished.  with, 
expectation  of  your  unfailing  purpose  for  years  to  come, 
in  assurance  of  divine  favor  and  power  in  Christ  our  Lord, 
the  "Teacher  sent  from  heaven."  we  bid  you  God-speed 
for  a  great  work  to  follow  this  Anniversary. 


REMARKS  OF  REV.  LOUIS  H.  HOLDEN. 

Pastor  of  Reformed  Church  of  Utica. 

On  this  significant  occasion  I  am  happy  to  pay  my  trib- 
ute of  congratulation  to  Dr.  Brokaw.  my  colleague  and 
good  friend.  It  is  a  rare  distinction  to  be  pastor  of  a 
Church  and  School  with  such  a  history  as  you  have 
recorded. 

T  would  also  congratulate  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 
Closest  bonds  link  our  sister  denominations,  and  I  speak 


66  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

as  one  deeply  interested  in  all  that  concerns  the  welfare 
of  this  Church.  My  own  Church  owes  a  great  debt  to 
men  and  women  from  your  flock  who  lent  us  valuable 
service  in  the  early  years.  I  am  delighted  to  learn  from 
Mr.  Cookinham's  address  that  we  have  been  of  some  service 
to  you,  though  indirectly — that  the  sisters  of  Dr.  Bethune, 
our  first  pastor,  suggested  the  founding  of  your  school 
some  years  before  our  Church  was  organized.  T  rejoice 
that  thus  early  the  value  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Utica  was  recognized.  Prom  these  first  beginnings 
throughout  the  long  century  its  Christian  influence  upon 
our  city  has  been  measureless. 

In  common  with  all  who  address  you  at  this  time  my 
one  thought  concerns  the  value  of  the  Sunday  School. 

Christianity  has  taught  us  the  value  of  youth.  Christ 
loved  the  little  child  and  assures  us  that  angels  watch 
tenderly  over  every  such  budding  life.  The  temple  is  the 
child's  true  home.  Samuel  and  Timothy  are  but  two*  of 
many  biblical  examples  testifying  to  the  worth  of  spiritual 
training. 

Dr.  Bachman  has  spoken  to  you  of  the  lack  of  religious 
instruction  in  our  public  schools  and  of  the  loss  to  the 
child  and  the  community  thereby. 

I  would  remind  you  of  the  pulpit's  handicap  as  an 
educational  force  in  that  it  seeks  to  address  all  grades  of 
mind  at  once,  Such  mixed  audiences,  often  irregular  in 
their  attendance,  render  systematic  bible-training  from  the 
pulpit  very  difficult  if  not  impossible.  The  Sunday  School 
alone  can  adeqautely  meet  this  need. 

Systematic  bible-study  is  a  need  which  grows  steadily 
more  imperative.  In  our  age  of  careless  theological 
Ihinking,  of  easy  transition  from  church  to  church  and 
from  church  to  each  new  cult,  we  greatly  need  to  know 
just  what  we  believe  and  why.  "We  require  the  equip- 
ment that,  will  fortify  us  intelligently  against  the  "isms" 
which  arise  on  every  hand.  Only  the  best  methods  of 
bible-study  will  thoroughly  furnish  the  man  of  God.  We 
shall  prove  ourselves  more  noble  than  they  of  Thessalonica 
according  as  we  search  the  scriptures.     Bible-lovers  in  the 


REMARKS    OF    REV.    EDWIN    F.    KEEVER  67 

pews  will  encourage  more  powerful  preaching,  while 
benefiting  the  more  themselves  from  the  preached  Word. 
It  is  the  mission  of  the  Sunday  School  to  train  such  bible- 
lovers. 

To  this  School  with  its  high  mission  I  bring  the  greet- 
ings of  a  sister-church.  Thus  commissioned  I  feel  like  the 
traveling  evangelist  of  primitive  days  who  passed  from 
Church  to  Church  to  tell  and  learn  of  the  progress  of  the 
kingdom.  Your  achievements  call  forth  our  praises.  In 
every  sign  of  God's  blessing  our  encouragement  and  joy 
are  mutual. 

Thus  my  message  is  one  of  rejoicing  in  our  common 
spiritual  heritage  and  in  our  joint  commission  as  heralds 
of  divine  truth.  We  are  entrusted  with  Christ's  priceless 
gospel;  we  enjoy  the  incomparable  privilege  of  member- 
ship in  his  kingdom  ;  we  acknowledge  the  ancient  mystic 
symbol:  "Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  our  Savior." 
God  make  us  true  to  our  high  faith,  and  the  kingdom  shall 
come  on  earth  as  in  heaven. 


REMARKS  OF  REV.  EDWIN  F.  KEEVER 
Pastor  Brokaw  and  dear  Friends  : 

I  count  it  an  honor  to  be  asked  to  participate  in  the 
amenities  of  this  celebration,  and  I  thank  you  for  the 
honor.  The  word  I  bring  is  one  of  greeting  and  con- 
gratulation from  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer  and  from 
many  other  Lutherans  in  this  city.  They  rejoice  with  you 
in  the  fact  that  you  are  closing  a  century  of  fruitful  labor 
with  such  high  success.  It  seems  to  be  the  order  of  the 
evening  to  discover  relationships.  The  first  that  comes 
to  me  is  the  family  name  which  I  noticed  in  the  public- 
print.  According  to  your  early  history,  there  was  an 
Ostrom  family  prominent  in  this  Sunday  School  years  ago. 
That  sounds  like  a  Swedish-Lutheran  name.  Since  your 
first  Sunday  School  was  known  as  a  Union  School,  it 
seems  more  than  likely  that  it  contained  some  Swedish- 
American  children.  English  Lutheran  work  had  not  yet 
been  begun  in  Utica. 


68  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

Another  relation  is  that  our  churches  stand  on  the  same 
street.  Now  you  may  claim  to  occupy  the  better  end  of 
the  street,  but  such  an  assertion  is  open  to  dispute.  I 
would  remind  you  that  there  are  some  saints  to  be  found 
at  the  other  end.  There  are  St.  Luke's  and  St.  Joseph's 
Churches  to  balance  your  own  and  Grace  Church;  and  if 
any  doubt  still  remains,  I  will  add  the  weighty  name  of 
St.  Patrick.  Almost  midway  between  these  two  extremes 
of  glory  and  sanctity,  stands  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer. 

Another  relation  is  hardly  worth  the  mention,  and  you 
will  pardon  the  personality.  The  Pastor  who  brings  you 
these  greetings  can  boast  of  a  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterian 
name. 

As  my  mind  runs  back  in  an  effort  to  study  the  fruits 
and  results  of  a  century  of  religious  work  in  a  Sunday 
School,  one  can  hardly  resist  the  recognition  of  the  prin- 
cipal force  in  that  work.  That  force  is  the  voluntary 
service  of  the  old-fashioned  teachers  who  taught  Christian 
Doctrine  and  precept  Sunday  after  Sunday  throughout  the 
years  of  the  long  century.  Their  apparatus  and  acces- 
sories were  by  no  means  so  manifold  and  so  scientific  as 
we  deem  necessary  to-day.  With  no  text-book  but  the 
Bible  and  the  old  Catechism,  with  no  study  of  psychology 
except  that  derived  from  living  contact  with  their  human 
charges,  and  with  no  pay  except  a  sense  of  satisfaction 
which  rejoices  in  the  Lord's  service,  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  they  taught,  they  visited,  and  they  prayed.  They 
knew  little  of  that  technical  skill  which  is  coming  to  be 
exacted  of  the  modern  Sunday  School  teacher.  But  with 
true  Christian  fidelity  they  sensed  and  inculcated  the 
moral  force  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  Word  of  God 
they  imparted  as  a  life-force,  and  their  old-fashioned 
righteousness  was  a  mighty  power  in  shaping  the  life  and 
carving  the  character  of  the  human  material  before  them. 
The  intellectual  conception  of  the  Bible  changes  from  time 
to  time;  but  its  moral  conception  never  changes.  And 
that  moral  conception  the  teachers  of  three  generations  of 
boys  and  girls  in  their  Sunday  School  possessed  most 
unerringly. 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.    E.    H.    COLEY,   D.    D.  69 

To-night,  then,  as  we  glance  over  the  past,  let  us  not 
overlook  these  day-laborers  who  were  master  builders  in 
God's  holy  work.  Let  us  thank  Him  that  they  lived  the 
Christ  life.  They  are  now  numbered  among  the  stones  of 
the  Lord's  Temple. 


ADDRESS  OF  REV.  E.  H.  COLEY,  D.  D. 

I  am  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  to  express  my  hearty 
congratulations  to  the  pastor  and  congregation  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  on  the  completion  of  one  hun- 
dred years  of  efficient  and  useful  work  in  its  Sunday 
School. 

In  doing  so,  it  is  pleasant  to  recall  the  cordial  relations 
which  have  existed  between  Dr.  Brokaw  and  myself  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  eighteen  years  he  has  been  in  Utica. 
We  have  worked  in  some  parts  of  the  same  field  without 
a  single  disturbance  of  harmony  and  good  will,  and  my 
esteem  for  the  high  character  and  consecrated  service  of 
your  pastor  has  increased  as  time  has  gone  on. 

It  is  also  a  privilege  to  feel  that  I  have  many  kind 
friends  in  this  congregation  whose  association  has  been 
both  a  profit  and  pleasure  to  me. 

In  considering  the  good  work  of  your  Sunday  School  it 
is  wise  to  remember  that  it  has  been  so  well  done  because 
pastor  and  people  have  worked  together  for  its  success. 

No  pastor,  however  consecrated  and  efficient,  such  as 
you  have  the  opportunity  to  work  with,  can  accomplish 
much  in  the  Sunday  School,  or  any  other  department  of 
the  parish,  unless  he  has  the  loyal  support  and  assistance 
of  the  laity. 

It  is  because  you  have  given  such  support  that  your 
celebration  is  so  satisfactory  and  your  achievements  so 
great. 

May  I  express  the  hope  that  the  Sunday  School  will 
enter  on  the  second  century  of  its  life  with  the  same 
spirit  of  devoted  service  which  has  characterized  it  in  the 


70  MEMORIAL    BOOK 

past  and  that  it  may  continue  to  be  a  means  of  bringing 
many  to  righteousness. 


At  the  close  of  the  services  in  the  Church,  a  reception 
was  held  in  the  chapel  and  parlor.  Many  old  friends 
greeted  each  other  and  recalled  bygone  days  when  they 
were  workers  together  in  the  Sunday  School.  And  so 
ended  this  Centeninal  Celebration. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Address,  Rev.  E.  H.  Coley,  D.  D 69 

Ad-dress  by  Win.  M.  Griffith 39 

Address.  Rev.  C.  F.  Kittred'ge 64 

Address  by  Rev.  A.  N.  Petersen 37 

Historical  Address,  Henry  J.  Cookinham 19 

Invitation 3 

Letters  — 

Rev.  Robert  H.  Life 55 

Rev.  Frank  W.  Murtfeldt 55 

Charles  H.  Parsons 56 

John  T.  Gomph 57 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Walker 57 

James  R.  Sheffield 58 

Mrs.  Eleanor  E.  Morse 59 

Rev.  Philemon  Fowler  Sturges 59 

Stanley  L.  Butler 60 

Rev.  J.  Howard  Hobbs 60 

Lynn  G.  Foster 61 

P.  M.  McKenzie 61 

Rev.  F.  C.  Smith 61 

Rev.  E.  H.  Brown 62 

Rev.  Perry  J.  Stackhouse 62 

Rev.  James  J.  Burd 63 

Rev.  Octavius  Applegate 63 

Rev.  John  T.  Stone 63 

Organization  and  Officers 17 

Program 5 

Remarks,  Rev.  Louis  H.  Holden 65 

Remlarks,  Rev.  Edwin  F.  Keever 67 

Report  of  George  E.  Rendell 33 

Sermon,  Rev.  Robert  L.  Bacbman 42 


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